Goodbye Mr. Goodwrench, hello Certified Service
(February 3, 2011) GRAND BLANC, Mich. — Goodwrench, the symbol of General Motors dealership service, has officially been retired.
Mr. Goodwrench took to the national airwaves in 1977 as a way to market General Motors franchised dealers' service departments, replacing a patchwork of separate GM-divisional offerings. At the time, GM marketed vehicles in the U.S. under the Chevrolet, Buick, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Cadillac and GMC brands.
Through several iterations, the advertising campaign worked its way into the lexicon of Americana by becoming shorthand for someone who can fix things.
Beginning in 1996, the brand was changed to become GM Goodwrench Service Plus, dropping the "Mr." and the human representations.
GM announced the change from Goodwrench to Certified Service in November 2010. The change was made to more deeply embed vehicle service into the Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac brands, and give dealers the tools they need to retain and grow their service business.GM today said that Certified Service is now available at all U.S. GM dealerships.
“The purchase of a vehicle is only a portion of the customer’s full experience with their vehicle, which they will drive for several years,” said Steve Hill, GM North American vice president, Customer Care and Aftersales. “For GM to fulfill its vision to design, build and sell the world’s best vehicles, we must provide a truly exceptional ownership experience from the first day of ownership until they buy their next vehicle from us. Our customers expect and deserve this.”
Certified Service elements include a new service look and feel, national retail programs offering competitively priced, convenient service performed by trained experts who best know these vehicles, and a new focus on the total vehicle ownership experience.“Certified Service brings together many of the necessary elements for creating positive, long-lasting relationships with our customers,” Hill said. “It’s more than a name change - it’s a commitment from the highest levels of this company to provide superior treatment, convenience and value during every service visit.
Throughout 2011, Certified Service will continue to build upon a successful national value pricing strategy that includes pricing benchmarked against the competition; a broader choice of service and price options to suit owners’ priorities and budgets; rebates on certain key products and services; and a tire price match guarantee. A signal of the success of the program is the record number of dealers – 93 percent – who have enrolled in the program.
A national advertising campaign, including TV spots on major network and cable stations, began running Feb. 1.