Ø <b>The issue of after-sales/warranty service has always been of particular importance. And the level of professionalism of the master has always been valued. But now everyone is talking about artificial intelligence: is "artificial intelligence" capable of completely replacing a person?</b>
First of all, I would like to once again note that LG's history in Russia exceeds 30 years. The company's structure includes a separate Service Department. It was founded in 1996 and has been developing year after year in step with the times, based on the needs and wishes of our customers.
Today, there are more than 400 authorized service centers throughout Russia; in fact, we have a powerful structure, virtually a federal network. For more than 25 years of existence, we have been able to create not just a network of workshops and a help desk, but a real complex for working with clients, ensuring close communication with each person, solving any tasks.
Of course, we are implementing emerging technologies, because technology is no longer what it used to be. So we are learning too. In order to maintain our position in the market and provide service for already purchased devices, we annually improve the skills of our specialists and integrate modern methods of communication.
Ø <b>It would seem that what else can be implemented? High-quality screening, the availability of spare parts and the experience of the master - that's all you need at first glance. In which direction is the segment developing?</b>
In addition to the availability of service, speed of response and proper organization of field teams, this year we launched a new stage in the qualitative improvement of the service. This year we received the prestigious "Consumer Rights and Quality of Service" award in the "Retail Trade" segment in the nomination "Warranty and After-Sales Service". The project of the service department of LG Electronics "Creating our own network of visiting engineers based on dedicated Authorized service centers" was highly appreciated by experts and respected consumers.
Together with the Management of the schedule of customer visits, introduced last year, the organization of the service of visiting engineers in cities with a population of over one million and other large cities has reduced the waiting time and repair time for consumers by approximately 2 times. In total, there are now 38 mobile engineers working in 18 cities in Russia, Belarus and Moldova.
Engineers have undergone additional training and can perform complex operations at home. If there are any questions regarding repair or the availability of a spare part, the engineer can contact the technical department online via the Telegram channel and receive the necessary assistance. The uniqueness of such consultations lies in the fact that in the case of complex defects, the technical support engineer can determine the malfunction by video and help the visiting engineer to carry out component repair if necessary. All this saves both time and money for the consumer.
Ø <b>Is the available number of specialists sufficient? How to cope with requests throughout the country?</b>
Of course, this is just the beginning. It is thanks to modern telecommunications technologies that we are able to cover the regions. Today we have key leaders in 18 major cities in Russia, Belarus and Moldova. If you put "flags" on the map, you get a very dense network: Kazan, Samara, Voronezh, Rostov-on-Don, Nizhny Novgorod, Volgograd, Khabarovsk, Ufa, Omsk, Vladivostok, Makhachkala, Belgorod, Saratov, Irkutsk, Kemerovo, Tyumen, Novosibirsk, Krasnodar, Moscow and St. Petersburg, as well as Minsk and there are already four specialists in Chisinau. Further expansion is planned through additional staff and telecommunications coverage. Professional trainers of the LG Academy conduct a variety of training programs. For remote regions, these are webinars, online trainings with subsequent testing and certification.
In addition, this year we opened a professional training course "Fundamentals and principles of designing ventilation and air conditioning systems HVAC LG": an educational program for students of engineering specialties of the Moscow Polytechnic University. We are training future industry specialists, combining the curriculum of the leading specialized university and the developments of the LG Air Conditioning Academy with the base of practical capabilities of our training center. Our experienced employees - technical specialists of the Service Department - teach the children. The first graduates will receive certificates by the end of 2023 and we plan to continue this practice in the future. Thus, the number of highly qualified specialists with practical skills will increase.
Each of our customers should be able to get answers to their questions, advice, or installation, setup, or repair services.
The pace of life is only accelerating every year, and in order to meet the needs and expectations of modern customers, it is necessary to provide not only high-quality service, but also to do it as quickly as possible, which means that we will work to ensure that LG service is available to more and more people.