Miele Canada's Revolution
Submitted by advisor on Mon, 09/22/2008 - 10:31am.
Four months after ApplianceAdvisor.com first broke the story in May 2008, Miele Canada is touting in a September 22 Press Release, their new system of customer and sales management which leverages technology and the web "To ensure a consistent brand experience".
"The first of its kind in Canada - and in the appliance industry- the unique Miele Chartered Agent system (MCA) focuses on providing the best possible customer experience by having Miele directly support all customer interactions, from payment and delivery, to installation and service. "
Dealers reduce their risk and their participation. Miele controls what products are on display and owns the customer.
Sounds great. Is it great? Is this the future of the North American appliance industry or is Miele a special case because of the high level of control over distribution and service which Miele already enjoys?
Comment from Email
There's good and there's some bad in the Miele plan.
-Smaller Dealer's who could never carry Miele before, now can get it. They are thrilled.
-Big Stores like TASCO no longer have an incentive to press on with Miele as the margins aren't there.
-The Dealers that started with Miele and have been with Miele since they entered Canada are beside themselves, they are so angry. The change drastically reduces their earnings.
Other issues mentioned were:
-Miele is holding the money from the customer before the customer leaves the dealer. No dealer terms, no late payments, nothing. For Miele, this is an undisguised blessing.
-Dealers, though must now wait to receive their commission payments from Miele.
-The consumer benefits, so says the email, because of the addition of a new 5 year product warranty in an industry that more usually offers the "Don't let the door hit you on the arse" warranty.
The email suggested that Miele will certainly roll the system out in the US on a region by region basis.
It'll one day come to the