The warranty and goodwill funds were a small percentage of every machine price build up. 2-3% typically. No we didn't give any rebates back to the customer. We adjusted the percentage each year depending on the previous year costs and forecast for the new year.
One thing we did do though is each project was judged in regards to risk and complexity. The higher the risk and complexity the higher the assigned margin.
On rush deliveries the sales department could not make a commitment to the customer without the approval from all the other departments that might be affected by the accelerated schedule.
I totally agree there is no excuse for poor workmanship. I would not accept poor workmanship at any level of cost.
A few of things we did that really helped with customer satisfaction.
1. Design reviews: Prior to purchase. At the time of purchase to reconfirm specs. Design review at completion of the mechanical and electrical design.
Sounds like a lot time spent on design reviews but it really only took a few hours per stage. It was up to the customer to attend in person or via WebEx. We did everything in Solid Works 3D so the customer really could see what they were getting and approved of what was being designed.
2. A project manager was assigned to each machine after the sale.They would typically look after 10-15 machines at any one time. They were the main link to the customer after the sale. Any problems or changes to project scope were looked after by the project manager. The project manager was responsible for the machine (or could be a car) until the customer accepted the machine. With the level of costs that the cars being built at today I think a project manager could a life saver.
3. As said above these are really one off custom cars. Test and debug is critical. It was the same for our machines. So once the machines were completed by the build team and prior to customer inspection, at team of 4 employees were selected. One mechanical engineer, one electrical engineer, one service tech and a different project manager to run a "mock" customer inspection. They were instructed to be highly critical. Any faults were documented and corrected.
I don't know if the above is any help. Just food for thought for customers and builders.
Again I am sorry your project went so wrong.
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