October 3, 2024

Bridgestone's group company, Bridgestone Retail Japan Corporation, held the 'Customer Service Grand Prix' competition for the staff of the passenger vehicle tire chain store Cockpit Tirekan, competing in responsiveness to customer requests and product/service proposals, as well as the 'Skill Grand Prix' competition for the accuracy and speed of tire replacement work, on September 11, 2024 (Wednesday) in Kodaira, Tokyo. A total of 436 participants, including district preliminaries, participated in both competitions, aiming to be the chosen store by customers and refining their knowledge and skills.

Customer Service Grand Prix Competition Scene

The scene of the skills grand prix competition.

Competing in customer service and proposal skills in the "Customer Service Grand Prix".
This competition aims to cultivate retail staff who mainly conduct negotiations with customers at stores. Following last year's theme of "Providing customer-oriented service suitable for each individual customer to improve LTV※1", players (staff) conducted negotiations in a role-playing format with customers, and points were awarded based on whether appropriate responses and proposals could be practiced based on the conversation with customers. It aims to improve proposal skills based on the "customer's voice" in one-on-one customer service and negotiations.

Competing in tire replacement work based on safety standards and speed in the "Skills Grand Prix".
This competition aims to cultivate service staff who mainly perform tire replacement work. Points were awarded based on whether the process of removing tires from vehicles, replacing them with new tires, and reinstalling them was done according to their own work standards accurately and quickly, focusing on the theme of 'Precision and high-quality work unique to specialty stores'. Especially in this tournament, a new class was established to compete in the ability and knowledge of handling vehicles equipped with tire pressure monitoring systems, targeting mid-level to veteran staff to improve their skills.

The 'Customer Service Grand Prix' and 'Skills Grand Prix' held this time featured players (staff) aiming to improve customer LTV. Through the competition, each player further hones their skills and shares outstanding examples, aiming to uplift the overall 'customer service/hospitality skills and work quality' of the Cockpit Tire Hall chain. By enhancing customer experience value through offering better tires and usage recommendations and multiplying the value at the stage of recommending the 'outstanding commodity※2' to customers.

Bridgestone Corporation Unsponsored ADR will continue to commit to the corporate commitment 'Bridgestone E8 Commitment' by enhancing the knowledge, skills, and proposal abilities of the staff through the 'Customer Service and Skills Grand Prix', supporting the safety of customers living near the stores from the ground up. They will also commit to realizing 'Ease supporting a safer and more comfortable mobility life' by accurately understanding customer concerns and requests, and providing high-quality responses and proposals through quality customer service.

1. Abbreviated as LTV, it stands for Customer Lifetime Value.
2. *2"Overwhelming" refers to corporate goals.
3. The "Bridgestone E8 Commitment" is a commitment made by Bridgestone Corporation unsponsored ADR.
   Bridgestone has established the corporate commitment "Bridgestone E8 Commitment" to realize its vision of becoming a sustainable solution company that provides social value and customer value in 2050. We will proceed with management while earning trust from the future, and commit to creating the eight values (Energy, Ecology, Efficiency, Extension, Economy, Emotion, Ease, Empowerment) that begin with "E" in a Bridgestone-like manner, and support a sustainable society together with employees, society, partners, and customers.

Above.