Mobile-UL engine started up

On May 22 & 23, UL held its first Mobile-UL customer initiative in Greater China. The purpose of the undertaking is to provide UL customers with a quick, convenient and customer friendly face-to-face means of interacting with the local UL service teams.

We realize that our customers may have important questions from time to time and that it may be difficult to find the right UL person on the phone, or it may not be convenient to visit the nearby UL office. In addition, some issues and questions are better resolved over face-to-face discussions and may need the involvement of more than one UL department or unit.

UL values the input and feedback from our customers and feels that it's your questions and inquiries are important to us. Therefore, now UL is becoming “mobile” and coming to your neighborhood.

Our first Mobile-UL was set up in the Shunde area of Guangdong, China and targeted at our customers in the Household Appliance Industry. Several conference rooms in the Marriott Hotel were used as meeting venue. An announcement was made to all household appliance customers in Shunde and the surrounding area that UL personnel would be available at this location to meet with them to discuss any questions, concerns or issues they may have. Key personnel from Conformity Assessment Services, Commercial Operations and Follow-Up Services were on-hand with ready-access to UL internal information systems to assist customers with their needs. For the convenience of our customers, no appointment was needed; customers were allowed to visit at their convenience during this period.

In spite of the heavy rains, 155 participants showed up to meet with the UL representatives. Customer representatives varied from large managed key accounts as well as middle to small-size factories. Many representatives shuttled between the various onsite UL teams, such as those for Follow-Up Services, ConformityAssessment and Commercial, with many different concerns and questions.

Thanks to the various UL functional teams that were so well represented, 96% of the inquiries were handled on the spot.

UL received an overall 96% approval rating from customers who attended the Mobile-UL, with many customers indicating that UL had exceeded their expectations. A big thank-you to all personnel and departments who helped to make this important event a success. This is truly a customer-focused initiative of which you see more in the future. Those in the pipeline will be for customers in Lighting, Wire and Cable, and Information Technology Equipment.

Look for the Mobile-UL in your neighborhood soon.

by Basil Shamsid-Deen, Director, Inspection and Field Services, Greater China