How Volvo is Using 1,500 iPhones and Apple Watches for Customer Service

Image: Volvo SwedenAccording to Computerworld, Swedish automaker Volvo kitted its 1,500 engineers (Personal Service Technicians) with an Apple Watch and iPhone equipped with the internal Volvo Service app to help improve customer service — and it worked.

Since service technicians are the main point of customer contact once Volvo owners drive off in their new cars, taking its entire service platform and customer assistance digital was a major focus of the company’s recent digitization efforts.

Volvo is no stranger to Apple tech; the Swedish carmaker was among the first to partner with Apple and bring CarPlay to its vehicles. The company even has a customer-facing Apple Watch app that allows users to control Volvo cars.

Incorporating the iPhone and Apple Watch into its service workflow has not only allowed Volvo to make the lives of its engineers easier but also maximize customer success outcomes. Here’s how Volvo’s implementation works:

• When a customer arrives at Volvo’s service centre with their car, their engineer gets a notification on their Apple Watch.
• The Apple Watch informs the engineer of the customer’s name, relevant notes, and the details of their car.
• During the repair, engineers can instantly access any information or service records they need, and once the repair is complete, they can directly call the customer to tell them.
• Engineers can also schedule and make subsequent follow-up calls.

“With Apple Watch, I have everything I need for my job right on my wrist,” said Johnnie Andersson, a personal service technician for Volvo. “It’s also way easier to train a new technician on the Apple Watch and the iPhone than our desktop systems.”

For Volvo, the iPhone-Apple Watch combo has become the centrepiece of its customer service strategy. The company’s service engineers are now more efficient and easier to train, and they no longer need to pull printed records or get on a computer to access customer data. Eliminating paper and taking customer records digital even does a solid for the environment.

Since the transition, Volvo has found that paperwork doesn’t disappear, its technicians can stay focused, essential customer contact records aren’t lost, and engineers always have clarity and purpose.

“Sometimes when you try to do things in the easiest way, you gain innovation out of it,” said Sanna Lindström, Volvo Car Sweden’s head of digital transformation.