Senior Toyota executive highlights strong KSA links

Saudi Arabia and Japan have very close ties and the recent visit of Crown Prince Salman to Japan confirmed the depth of the bonds of this relationship.
This was stated by Shunji Yamauchi, general manager of the Saudi Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) Office.
Yamauchi has been living in Saudi Arabia for more than 10 years.
He replaced Yukichi Goto, the previous general manager, who served in Jeddah for 14 years. 
The office has been in continuous operation providing services and support to Saudi customers since 1985.
Yamauchi said: “The Toyota Office in Saudi Arabia has wide responsibilities to support the distributor mainly in after-sales services and continuously evaluate their performance to ensure that TMC standards are maintained. This includes listening to customer voices directly.”
Toyota has pledged to continue to give Abdul Latif Jameel (ALJ) all the necessary support to make sure that the best possible service to customers is maintained. 
The chairman of Toyota recently also commented that ‘ALJ is one of the best distributors in the world and is completely aligned with Toyota’s focus to serve the Saudi customers with excellence.’
ALJ has a call center in Saudi Arabia which handled more than 4 million calls and text messages over the last year. 
Yamauchi said: “We believe that good customer care comes from an attitude where we respond to customers based on the facts from actual observation of concerned vehicle at site.”
Yamauchi said: “ALJ is capable enough to follow this practice, and we of-course support them in further improving capabilities.” 
He added: “Our TMC office also is having full independent access to any complaint arriving at ALJ’s call center and can contact any customer directly as the need arises.”
At the end of 2013, the total number of complaints received at ALJ’s level, when compared to the total number of transactions, is no more than 2 complaints per thousand transactions; a ratio that ALJ is continuously striving to reduce.
Yamauchi said the relations between Saudi Arabia and Japan are very close, and the visit of Crown Prince Salman to Japan is evidence that confirms the depth of the bonds of this relationship.
Toyota’s history in Saudi Arabia is also a deep relationship that extends back for more than half a century with the establishment of diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Japan.
He said Abdul Latif Jameel Company is one of 14 companies around the world (including Toyota owned companies) that has won the Excellence Award in after-sales service during the past three years. 
ALJ is the largest independent distributor of Toyota and Lexus vehicles in the world with the largest independent retail network, employing more than 12,000 people in after-sales alone.
ALJ is also dedicated to the communities in which it operates. 
Since 2003, Abdul Latif Jameel Community Initiatives (ALJCI) has launched numerous global and regional programs in art, education, poverty alleviation as well as job creation initiatives which have helped to create tens of thousands of job opportunities annually in Saudi Arabia.