Contradiction blots Obama's legacy with outdated Cold War mindset

Obama insurance conference call providers Russia and the U.S. are sending rather contradictory signals about their relationship.

US President Barack Obama belittled Russia as a nation that "doesn't make anything" in an interview with the Economist on Sunday. He also said that the West must be "pretty firm" with China, as the latter will "push as hard as they can until they meet resistance."

Obama downplayed Russia's role in the international community by saying Moscow is unable to attract quality immigrants and Russia's population is shrinking and aging. He described US tensions with China as "manageable," but stressed that the West should be tough with China when China "breaches international norms," and show China "the potential benefits over the long term."

Condescending to China and Russia, Obama treats both nations separately. He wants to draw more Western attention to China, so there could be more efforts to contain China. Obama paying close attention to China resulted in his "rebalancing to Asia" strategy.

He hasn't shown much belligerence to China and Russia since he took office, but apparently, he lacks strategic insight and the power to control his government and be a good decision-maker. His advocacy is always ambiguous and easily misguided by some emergency issues. Diplomacy will not be a proud part of his legacy.

In the Middle East, the US withdrawal from Iraq under his leadership has not helped sort out the mess in the region. He won't be given a medal for the current situation.

In its relationship with Russia, the US wrongfully kept its momentum to squeeze Russia's strategic space and caused Moscow's intense countermeasures.

Washington and Moscow are now engaged in Cold-War-level tensions, and they will cost the US much resource and attention.

In US-China relations, Obama has also found it hard to fully achieve his "rebalancing to Asia" goals. When the new Chinese leadership proposed the concept of a new type of major power relationship, the Obama administration accepted the general idea, but hasn't accepted the connotations.

Obama has not made constructive contributions to China-US relationships. He cannot make landmark progress if he still clings to an outdated Cold War mindset.

In the next two years before his last term ends, Obama could make himself remembered by making breakthroughs in the Sino-US relationship.

He could work with his Chinese counterparts to work out a framework for both countries, which would influence the entire picture of international relations.

In the early years of Obama's administration, people were impressed by his less strident posture toward international affairs, and this is also why he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. But now he has become more self-contradictory.

Perhaps that's how the most powerful man plays his role, held back by many different forces. It seems that only recklessness and strident talk can make the US presidency function well, while forward thinking won't get anywhere.

Source: Global Times

Mercedes-Benz under monopoly investigation in China

A Mercedes Benz hood ornament is pictured at the Jacob Javits Convention Center during the New York International Auto Show in New York April 17, 2014. [Photo / Agencies]

German automaker Mercedes-Benz Shanghai office has been searched by anti-monopoly officials on Monday, China Finance Information reported Tuesday.

Investigators, sent by China's antitrust regulator, the National Development and Reform Commission, visited the automaker's Shanghai office and inspected several office computers, the report said.

It also said that almost all the staff there was questioned and several top management leaders were questioned until 21:00 pm.

The unexpected probe reportedly targets Mercedes-Benz's car price policies and price floor imposed on dealerships in China, said the report quoting people familiar with the matter.

The company has not confirmed the news yet. But an insider said to China Daily website that it is preparing a statement on the issue.

Under pressure from Chinese antitrust regulator's monopoly concerns, Mercedes-Benz was the first to officially reduce the cost of after-sales for its major models by launching its Start Maintenance Menu earlier on July 1.

Covering both smart cars and Mercedes-Benz models, including the A-, B-, C-, E-, GLK-, M-, R-, and S-Class, the cost of maintenance will be cut by 20 percent on average and the reduction for some specific models could be as much as 50 percent.

Then on Sunday, the German automaker announced that it will cut the prices of spare parts by an average of 15 percent in after-sales maintenance for all models from Sept 1.

Mercedes-Benz cuts spare-part prices on anti-monopoly probe	Automakers lower prices following monopoly concerns

Source: Chinadaily/Asia News Network

Incompetent car service centres in Malaysia; Quality and standard need to be regulated!

Higher expectations: A mechanic at a service centre in this file picture.

No joy at car service centres

PETALING JAYA: Malaysians are getting increasingly dissatisfied with the quality of service provided by authorised vehicle service centres.

The J.D. Power Asia Pacific 2014 Malaysia Customer Service Index (CSI) study also found that the expectations of vehicle owners increased since last year. (see below).

Overall satisfaction among new Malaysian car owners slipped three points from last year’s score to 754 out of 1000, the study revealed.

Satisfaction with service provided by Malaysian national brands dipped below the overall average to 744 points, down five points from last year.

On the other hand, the study found that customers expected more from these service centres, compared to the year before.

“The study identified 22 service standards that enhance the overall customer service experience. Customer expectations in 2013 were for service centres to meet 17 of the 22 standards,” stated the study.

“In 2014, customers expected a minimum of 19 of those 22 standards to be met in order to have a positive service experience.”

The study also found that additional services improved customer satisfaction, such as washing and vacuuming vehicles at the completion of the service and making follow-up phone calls to customers after service had been completed.

It stated, however, that only 14% of mass market customers had their service centres carry these out.

Toyota ranked highest in overall customer service satisfaction with a score of 777, followed by Nissan at 776, while Isuzu and Mazda tied for third place at 775.

The study ranks the satisfaction of new vehicle owners on the service offered by these authorised centres in five areas: service quality (38%); vehicle pick-up (20%); service initiation (14%); service advisor (14%); and service facility (14%).

“Brands need to focus on the entire process – from helping customers secure service appointments, to providing top-quality services, to faster service turnaround times, to having friendly and knowledgeable service advisors – all of which contribute to overall customer satisfaction,” said J.D. Power country head Rajaswaran Tharma­lingam.

“Customers have higher expectations, so it’s vital that the automakers’ service centres strive to not only meet, but also exceed those expectations to deliver a satisfying experience for their customers,” he said.

The study measures the overall satisfaction level among vehicle owners who have taken their vehicle to any authorised service centre for maintenance or repair works during the first two years of ownership.

Contributed by P. Aruna & Tashny Sukumaran

Fomca: Quality of service centres need to be regulated

PETALING JAYA: The quality of vehicle service centres need to be regulated, either by the industry itself or by relevant authorities, said Fomca.

“We are also receiving an increasing number of complaints over the poor quality of service provided at vehicle service centres as well as on the quality of the vehicles.

“The industry needs to look at itself and make improvements.

“Malaysians are not getting a fair deal,” said Fomca secretary-general Datuk Paul Selvaraj.

He was commenting on the latest J.D. Power Asia Pacific 2014 Malaysia Customer Service Index (CSI) Study which found that the public’s overall satisfaction had slipped three points from last year’s score of 754 out of 1000.

“The findings of the survey is the reflection of the quality of service being provided.”

An engineer, K. Ramesh took his one-year-old car to an authorised service centre after experiencing some problems.

“My car started jerking. I took it to the centre twice but they could not figure out what was wrong.

“They finally said I would have to change the fuel pump and asked me to wait two weeks until they purchased the part. Then, they asked me to leave my car with them for a week for troubleshooting,” said the 29-year old.

Before sending the car in, Ramesh decided to check with several online forums, and found a simple solution shared by other car owners.

“I tried it and managed to fix it by myself in less that two hours.

“Because of their incompetence, I was given the runaround and would have had to be without a car for a whole week,” he said.

Another car owner, Eric Chia, 27, waited two hours before the centre started servicing his car despite having made an appointment a day earlier.

“I waited two hours before realising that others who came in after me had their cars attended to first.

“When I asked the customer service advisor, he said it was his mistake and apologised,” he said.

To make things worse, the service, which was supposed to take an hour, took three hours to complete.

“I thought they did a thorough job, a month later, my air conditioner was blowing warm air and my engine mounting was loose.

“I had to send my car in again before they finally fixed the problem,” he said.

Contributed by P. Aruna The Star/Asia News Network

J.D. Power Asia Pacific Reports: Well-Informed Customers in Malaysia Have High Expectations for Customer Service


Likely due to cars are expensive in Malaysia, customers are expecting better service when they take their vehicles in for service or repairs, and authorized service centers are not meeting those expectations, according to the J.D. Power Asia Pacific 2014 Malaysia Customer Service Index (CSI) Study^SM released.

The study, now in its 12^th year, measures overall service satisfaction among owners who took their vehicle to an authorized service center for service maintenance and/ or repair work during the first 12 to 24 months of ownership. For the first time, the 2014 study examines service satisfaction exclusively on the mass market segment.

Toyota ranks highest in overall customer service satisfaction among mass market brands, with a score of 777. Toyota performs particularly well in the service facility factor. Nissan ranks second with a score of 776, while Isuzu and Mazda rank third in a tie at 775 each.

The study evaluates new-vehicle owner satisfaction with the service experience by examining dealership performance in five factors: service quality (38%); vehicle pick-up (20%); service initiation (14%); service advisor (14%); and service facility (14%). Satisfaction among mass market brands averages 754 index points (on a 1,000-point scale) in 2014, which is a 3-point decline from 2013.

 
The study identifies 22 service standards that enhance the overall customer service experience. In 2014, customers expect a minimum of 19 of those 22 standards to be met in order to have a positive service experience. In comparison, customer expectations in 2013 were for service centers to meet 17 of the 22 service standards. On average, authorized service centers are implementing 18.1 standards per service visit in 2014.

“Customers have higher expectations, so it’s vital that the automakers’ service centers strive to not only meet, but also to exceed those expectations to deliver a satisfying experience for their customers,” said Rajaswaran Tharmalingam, country head, Malaysia, J.D. Power Asia Pacific. “Brands need to focus on the entire service process—from helping customers secure service appointments, to providing top-quality services, to faster service turnaround times, to having friendly and knowledgeable service advisors—all of which contribute to overall customer satisfaction.”

The study also finds there are additional services some service centers provide that also improve customer satisfaction, such as washing and vacuuming vehicles at the completion of the service and making follow-up phone calls to customers after service is performed. Currently, only 14 percent of mass market customers indicate their service center delivered on both of these services, among whom satisfaction is 797, compared with 729 among customers whose service center did not deliver on both those standards.