NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana – The XTS is arguably the most important vehicle launch from Cadillac in the last few years, and to help owners get acclimated to its features – including the all-new CUE infotainment system – Caddy is providing owners of the 2013 model with an Apple iPad.
The inclusion of the iPad is part of a larger launch strategy by Cadillac to reassert itself as the world leader in luxury, and part of that is getting owners familiar with the range of new technologies incorporated into its largest sedan.
Speaking with Wired at the CTIA Wireless show in New Orleans, Mark Harland, Cadillac’s head of customer experience sets a lofty goal for the all-American luxury brand, saying, “We want to be the leader in customer experience.”
To that end, Cadillac is rolling out a series of online and dealership-based educational initiatives to help new XTS owners learn the ins and outs of their new sedan.
“The moment you pull away from the dealership,” says Harland, “there’s this kind of black hole for 90 days,” during which the owner has little to no contact with the dealer.
Cadillac’s new owner-education program aims to change that, beginning with 25 new “connected consumer specialists” Cadillac parent General Motors is hiring to get dealers up to speed on the XTS’ range of infotainment and safety systems. Each of the 700 or so Cadillac dealerships in the United States are required to have two “certified technology experts” on hand and trained by the XTS tech pros. Additionally, Cadillac is setting up a call center dedicated to CUE education and if customers still have issues, rather than trekking to the dealer, a specialist will come directly to their home.
“We need to think about helping [owners] with the learning curve,” Harland tells Wired. “Even if you get a walk-through at the dealership, you’re going to forget about a lot of the features. And we want the customer to learn about CUE on their own time.”
That’s where the iPad comes in.
Each Apple tablet given to XTS owners will come preloaded with OnStar RemoteLink, MyCadillac and an app that simulates the CUE user experience, allowing owners to familiarize themselves with all the functionality of the new infotainment system from the comfort of their couch.
Going even further, the CUE team will be scouring Cadillac forums, social media and other community sites to answer questions, solve issues and provide a level of support heretofore unheard of in the luxury automotive space.
“We always said that the customer is important,” Harland admits, “but there was no real strategy.” This is that new strategy and expect it to filter down throughout the ranks of Cadillac products in the very near future.
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