Ford launches online booking for vehicle services

In a bid to restore customer trust in its brand, Ford Thailand yesterday launched an online booking system that lets customers schedule maintenance and enjoy service free of charge if the work is not done within 60 minutes.

Some 100 Ford Fiesta drivers have recently filed complaints with the Office of the Consumer Protection Board and the Consumer Protection Police Division over gear problems.

The “60 Minutes Express Service Guaranteed Online Booking” initiative allows customers to make an appointment for any day during the week at any of Ford’s 30 showrooms and customer service centres in Bangkok and vicinity areas.

These 30 dealerships have the capacity to provide services for over 8,000 cars per month. More than 2,300 customers have scheduled appointments through the online service, said newly-appointed deputy managing director Narong Sritalayon.

Wichit Wongwatthanakarn, director of the customer service department, said the new online service will help rebuild confidence among customers by delivering fast and efficient service.

Customers can book their appointment for the service via the Online Booking at https://onlinebooking.ford.co.th every day except public holidays.

The server is updated in real-time with data from Ford dealers across the country. Upon completing booking, customers receive a confirmation SMS. The booking needs to be done two days in advance and customers can cancel it themselves.

Rates for free service under this programme depend on the mileage and model.

The new online service is applicable for all Ford vehicles sold from 2010 onwards with mileage less than 105,000 kilometres. This service will not cover the vehicles that require additional mileage check-ups or those with adapted parts different from Ford’s standard.

At present, Ford provides after-sales service to 300,000 vehicles, 70-80% of those are active customers. There were 413,632 Ford units registered at Land Transport Department last year.

In a related development, Ford said sales in the January-September period rose by 24.2% to 28,903 vehicles.

Ford expects 2016 to be the first year of sales growth after posting declines since 2013.