A "very good" TÜV seal of approval for Kern. Kern GmbH certified "very good" in the latest "TÜV Service tested" survey.

There is a saying that good things come in threes, and this popular adage has again been confirmed: Kern GmbH participated – for the third time – in the "TÜV Service tested" certification programme and passed the test with flying colours.

There is more good news – Kern has reconfirmed the fact that further progress is always possible: following the "school grades" 1.61 in 2004 and 1.52 in 2008 – both correspond to "good" – the company has been awarded a straight 1.5 for 2011. And Kern has every reason to be proud of this result; after all, a 1.5 signifies a "very good" overall performance!

The "TÜV Service tested" seal of approval is based on a representative customer survey, and is awarded by TÜV Saarland Certification exclusively to companies that are given appropriately good marks by their customers. Overall customer satisfaction is the decisive factor in this context: an average mark of 2.2 or better on the five-step scale (very good, good, satisfactory, marginal, poor) is required. The participating customers also used the survey to indicate which specific criteria they consider the most important aspects of their experience with the company, its products and services. These particular criteria must also generate an average mark of at least 2.2.

It should be noted that this seal of approval has absolutely nothing in common with those so-called marketing initiatives that allow companies to "purchase" their dream rating. The team of "TÜV Service tested" auditors is made up of critical customers of the companies seeking certification – in our case of the customers of Kern GmbH.

They were asked to fill in a detailed two-page evaluation questionnaire and grade the company's sales organisation, delivery, installation and service, the products themselves and their in-service performance – a total of 19 individual criteria in three categories. The ultimate aim of the process was to establish just how satisfied Kern customers are with the company's performance.

The customers were also able to specify which of the various aspects are most important to them, and of course the questionnaire – which was anonymous – also gave them the chance to include their comments.

This data gathering process – which was conducted according to empirically sound principles and overseen by qualified experts – led to this crucial question: "Would you recommend Kern?" And precisely 98 per cent would do exactly that – possibly the most gratifying praise a company could wish for!

The representative survey summarises Kern GmbH as a company that performs to the highest standards. Top marks were awarded, in particular in the disciplines competence, promptness, conscientiousness and response times.

Kern Managing Director Rainer Rindfleisch and Ulrich Hein, Head of Services Germany, were thus able to breathe a sigh of relief: although they are well aware of the fact that their company and its workforce can and does maintain high standards of performance, "we were a little nervous before the results came in". That mood of nervous anticipation is understandable: they were unable to influence the process in any way, and had set the ambitious goal of topping the overall "good" marks the company had received in 2004 and 2008. And that is exactly what has now been achieved: Kern has been promoted to "very good" status!

Please click picture to enlarge