Customer Loyalty Assistance
Number: VWG-19-01

General Communication
Announcement
Subject: NEW Customer Loyalty Assistance Program

Date: January 22, 2019
This document modifies
Volkswagen Customer Loyalty
Assistance general information.

The Customer Loyalty Assistance Program is one of many tools a Volkswagen dealer can use to create
exceptional customer experiences. When providing Customer Loyalty Assistance, you can improve a customer’s
ownership experience by assisting with an out of warranty repair or offering a gift to acknowledge an event or a poor
experience. It is paramount to present the right offer to the right customer and at the right time.
Volkswagen’s goal is to ensure our Goodwill program is set up in a way that supports dealer empowerment and promotes
customer retention. Questions regarding this program or claim submission should be directed to the Customer Loyalty
Assistance Team via email at vwgoodwill@vw.com or by calling the Warranty Helpline at 1-866-306-8447.

1. Goodwill Decision Making
Assistance should be considered on a case-by-case basis. The amount of assistance and percentage of customer
and/or dealer contribution should reflect the age and mileage of the vehicle as well as match the customer’s overall
experience. It is expected that as a vehicle ages and/or accumulates mileage, the percentage of contribution from
the customer and/or dealer also increases.

Considerations When Offering & Negotiating Goodwill
Dealer & Brand Loyalty
Vehicle Age and/or
Mileage
Vehicle Condition
Ownership Experience

Recognizing loyal customers for their business while still appreciating customers that
are new to VW.
The higher the age and mileage, the less likely VW is to participate in assisting with
repair costs. As age/mileage increases, dealer and/or customer contribution is
expected to increase.
Vehicle must be well maintained and in good overall condition to be eligible for
assistance.
The customer’s overall ownership experience should be considered when determining
if, and how much, assistance might be provided.

Page 1 of 8
© 2019 Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is based on the latest information available at the time of printing and is subject to the copyright and other intellectual
property rights of Volkswagen Group of America, Inc., its affiliated companies and its licensors. All rights are reserved to make changes at any time without notice. No part of this
document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, nor may these
materials be modified or reposted to other sites, without the prior expressed written permission of the publisher.

Customer Loyalty Assistance
Not Covered under Customer Loyalty Assistance
Repairs covered by an existing warranty, warranty extension, service contract, or other coverage such as:
• Aftermarket Repair Contract or other Service Contract
• Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) Limited Warranty or other used car warranties
• New Vehicle Limited Warranty, Powertrain limited Warranty, Limited Warranty Against Corrosion
Perforation, Hybrid System Limited Warranty, Emission Warranty, Warranty Extensions, Spare Parts
Warranty, and Recall Campaigns
• Tire Manufacturer Warranty
• Vehicles that have not been sold to a retail customer, demo vehicles or vehicles in dealer inventory
Recovery of costs resulting from non-adherence to Warranty Policy and Procedure
Costs related to shop comebacks due to ineffective repairs
Funding for dealership promotions
Formal or informal loaner or Volkswagen Customer Mobility program vehicle
Repairs resulting from unauthorized alteration of the vehicles manufacturing specifications
Consequential or subsequent damage caused by lack of maintenance, misuse, abuse, or other outside influences
Vehicles with branded titles or warranty restrictions
Vehicles used for Taxi, Livery, Shuttle, Commuter, and/or Rental agency use
Cancelled Warranty Claims will not be accepted
Repair events covered by automobile insurance plans

Not Covered under Customer Loyalty Assistance

Page 2 of 8
© 2019 Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is based on the latest information available at the time of printing and is subject to the copyright and other intellectual
property rights of Volkswagen Group of America, Inc., its affiliated companies and its licensors. All rights are reserved to make changes at any time without notice. No part of this
document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, nor may these
materials be modified or reposted to other sites, without the prior expressed written permission of the publisher.

Customer Loyalty Assistance
2. Types of Customer Loyalty Assistance
Types of Assistance

Out of Warranty Repairs
(Technical)

210

Assistance with a repair needed due to component failure or
defect that would normally be covered by an applicable VW
warranty, but that warranty as since expired.
Not to be associated with consumable items.

Gifts
(Marketing)

2CM

Gift provided to acknowledge a repair, experience or event.
Example: Gift cards, dinner, lunch, lease/loan payment, VW
DriverGear accessories. Service numbers starting with X0_.

Consumable Repairs
(Technical Marketing)

2CM

Assistance with a consumable repair needed due to customer
use. Example: Battery, brakes, bulbs

2.1

Out of Warranty Repairs (Technical) - 210 Claim Type

An example of a technical claim would be a water pump or transmission replacement needed due to a defect.
VWoA will participate in contributing to a repair, on a percentage basis, considering the age and mileage of the
vehicle. Customer contribution is expected and should be based on the length of time and/or mileage outside of
warranty.

2.2 Gifts (Marketing) - 2CM Claim Type
Examples of Marketing Gifts would include gift cards, dinner, lunch, Volkswagen Drive Easy Protection Plan,
VW CARE Scheduled Maintenance Plan, assistance toward a new Volkswagen, or vehicle payment contribution.
Marketing Goodwill claims are considered an apologetic gesture and should be utilized to recognize a significant
repair event/service history. It is not intended to supplement or extend an existing program and/or policy.

2.3 Consumable Repairs (Technical Marketing) - 2CM Claim Type
An example of a Marketing Service claim would be a battery, brakes, or bulb replacement. Since consumable items
are not warrantable outside of the warranty’s wear provision, it may be necessary as a one-time Customer Loyalty
Assistance gesture to leave the customer with the best impression of Volkswagen.

Page 3 of 8
© 2019 Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is based on the latest information available at the time of printing and is subject to the copyright and other intellectual
property rights of Volkswagen Group of America, Inc., its affiliated companies and its licensors. All rights are reserved to make changes at any time without notice. No part of this
document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, nor may these
materials be modified or reposted to other sites, without the prior expressed written permission of the publisher.

Customer Loyalty Assistance
3. Self - Authorization Empowerment
To ensure that we are assisting the customers who need it most, Volkswagen empowers dealers to make onthe-spot goodwill decisions by means of self-authorization. This empowerment allows you to own the customer
experience and control the outcome. Below are the guidelines within which a self-authorized dealer can work to
make goodwill offers to customers in those situations which merit assistance beyond our standard warranty
coverage.
Service Retention and Customer/Dealer Contribution will be reviewed quarterly based on data from the
previous quarter. Please see the Tier Change Calendar located under Resources on WISE for important dates
and information regarding tier updates.

Dealer
Self-Authorization

Premium *
At Target

Self-Authorization
Definition

Service Retention - Achieved 100%
of Region or Area Average
AND
Customer/Dealer Contribution > 20%

Authorized *
Trending Toward
Target

Service Retention – Achieved Above 95%
of Region or Area Average
AND
Customer/Dealer Contribution > 10%

Non-Authorized **
Significantly Below
Target

Service Retention – Achieved below 95%
of Region or Area Average
OR
Customer/Dealer Contribution < 10%

Gifts &
Consumables
2CM
Marketing
Claims

Out of Warranty
Repairs
210 Technical
Claims

No Pre-Approval Required

WISE Approval Required IF:
• Goodwill Claim > $1000
OR
• Vehicles > 24,000 miles
Outside of Warranty

WISE Approval Required

* Service Manager successfully completes online Goodwill training
** 5 Claim Minimum
Goodwill consideration is based on mileage outside of either the New Vehicle Limited or applicable Powertrain
warranties only.

Page 4 of 8
© 2019 Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.

All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is based on the latest information available at the time of printing and is subject to the copyright and other intellectual
property rights of Volkswagen Group of America, Inc., its affiliated companies and its licensors. All rights are reserved to make changes at any time without notice. No part of this
document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, nor may these
materials be modified or reposted to other sites, without the prior expressed written permission of the publisher.

Customer Loyalty Assistance
3.1 Self-Authorization Calculation
Service Retention: 36 Months Sold and PAI (Primary Area of Influence)
Ratio of unique VINS serviced in the past 13 months who: are 0-36 months old, reside within the dealer’s PAI and
were sold by the dealer divided by the total number of VINs in the dealer’s PAI which were sold by the dealer and
that are 0-36 months old. Only includes ROs with $15 or more of CP or IP. (See After Sales Service IQ Market
Share data via www.VWhub.com)
Each quarter we will look at how your dealer is performing for Service Retention and we will use your
best possible score for how your dealer compares to your Region or your Area.
Premium – Achieved above than 100% of your region or your area average
Authorized – Achieved above 95% of your region or your area average (or below 95% but with less 5 claims)
Non-Authorized – Achieved below 95% of your region or your area average and have 5 or more claims

Customer/Dealer Contribution:
Contribution will be calculated taking a percentage of total spend by Customer/Dealer overall for all claim types
for the previous quarter. It is imperative that the total amount that the customer and/or dealer is contributing
toward the repair is considered when entering the percentages into SAGA.
•

The first screen will display your dealer in the exporter view as shown in the example below.

•

The amount that is being paid by customer and/or dealer is entered in the first screen.

•

Once submitted the Importer view will show what is being asked from Goodwill.

Example: The Customer/Dealer are covering the labor and asking for goodwill toward the parts/material. The
total cost of the repair is $350; Labor is $200 and Parts are $150. In this example, the dealer/customer are
contributing 57% toward the total cost of the repair, however the goodwill share percentage will be entered like
below.
Reminder: When utilizing assistance, warranty (versus retail) rates must be applied to the entire cost of the
repair. Customer pay percentages must reflect warranty as opposed to retail rates for Goodwill offers.

Page 5 of 8
© 2019 Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is based on the latest information available at the time of printing and is subject to the copyright and other intellectual
property rights of Volkswagen Group of America, Inc., its affiliated companies and its licensors. All rights are reserved to make changes at any time without notice. No part of this
document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, nor may these
materials be modified or reposted to other sites, without the prior expressed written permission of the publisher.

Customer Loyalty Assistance
100% would be entered for Labor since the customer/dealer are contributing 100% toward labor. For
Material/Parts, 0% is entered because that is what is being asked of by Goodwill.

Once submitted, the request will show the Goodwill Share in the importer view, Material/Parts is 100% for
Goodwill and 0% is being asked for labor because that is what the customer/dealer are contributing.

3.2 Removal
When a dealer has been identified as needing improvement with Customer Loyalty Assistance, removal of
self-authorization status will occur. Once a dealer is no longer authorized, a Goodwill Exception Request
(WISE) is required for every Goodwill offer they wish to make. Self-authorization status and limits are
reevaluated quarterly. Other factors that could impact self-authorization, but are not limited to:
• Low Fixed Right the First Time percentage
• High customer CARE contacts to repair order ratio
• New dealer management
• Indication of program misuse or identifiable trends
• Goodwill training courses incomplete by Service Manager
Page 6 of 8
© 2019 Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is based on the latest information available at the time of printing and is subject to the copyright and other intellectual
property rights of Volkswagen Group of America, Inc., its affiliated companies and its licensors. All rights are reserved to make changes at any time without notice. No part of this
document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, nor may these
materials be modified or reposted to other sites, without the prior expressed written permission of the publisher.

Customer Loyalty Assistance
4. SAGA Claim Submission and WISE Goodwill Exception
Request
SAGA Goodwill Claim Submission: Within Self-Authorization or have Pre-Approval
•
•
•

Enter the claim directly through SAGA only.
If you have pre-authorization, you must include the name of the approver within your comments and there is
no need to enter a Goodwill Exception Request (WISE).
Be sure to enter the percentage that the dealer and/or customer are contributing toward the claim. Your percent
of contribution will be based off paid claims in SAGA.

WISE Goodwill Exception Request: Outside Self-Authorization Guidelines
•

Enter a Goodwill Exception Request (WISE). The online form is located in the Operations section in WISE:
https://www.vwhub.com/.

•

When submitting an exception request, complete repair information (concern, cause, correction) is required,
as well as a rationale for the offer, such as details of the customer’s experience and brand loyalty. If requesting
a gift item, a detailed description of the gift is required along with receipts or proof of payment. All required
documentation should be uploaded to Doc-it at the time of the request.

WISE allows up to 2,000 characters for a Goodwill justification statement. If you need to provide additional information,
please reach out to the Customer Loyalty Assistance Team via email at vwgoodwill@vw.com or by calling the Warranty
Helpline at 1-866-306-8447.

Page 7 of 8
© 2019 Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is based on the latest information available at the time of printing and is subject to the copyright and other intellectual
property rights of Volkswagen Group of America, Inc., its affiliated companies and its licensors. All rights are reserved to make changes at any time without notice. No part of this
document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, nor may these
materials be modified or reposted to other sites, without the prior expressed written permission of the publisher.

Customer Loyalty Assistance
5. Program Administration
•
•
•
•
•
•

The current Warranty Policy and Procedure that is applied when performing a repair and entering a warranty
claim also applies to Customer Loyalty Assistance offers.
Claims that are submitted without required documentation will be cancelled. Claims cancelled for improper
documentation will not be accepted by Volkswagen if not resubmitted within 60 days from the claim cancellation
date.
Claims must be transmitted no later than 30 days from the date of repair (last punched repair date). Claims
received after one year from the date of repair cannot be processed. Some states may not allow this limitation.
Check state law for further information.
The expectation is that the customer realizes the full benefit of the assistance. When utilizing assistance,
warranty (versus retail) rates must be applied to the entire cost of the repair. Customer pay percentages must
reflect warranty as opposed to retail rates for Goodwill offers.
A signed customer repair order with the typed notation indicating the offer of Goodwill is required upon request or
subject to cancellation.
Service Manager’s signature on the customer repair order is recommended as acknowledgement of the Goodwill
offer on behalf of the Volkswagen dealership.

Page 8 of 8
© 2019 Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is based on the latest information available at the time of printing and is subject to the copyright and other intellectual
property rights of Volkswagen Group of America, Inc., its affiliated companies and its licensors. All rights are reserved to make changes at any time without notice. No part of this
document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, nor may these
materials be modified or reposted to other sites, without the prior expressed written permission of the publisher.