5 questions with Frederiek Toney

Customer service is Frederiek Toney’s priority at Ford Motor Co.

As a Ford corporate officer in Detroit and vice president of Global Ford Customer Service Division, the Alabama native said those customer service duties include working with its dealers worldwide “to support their efforts to take care of customers.” He’s also responsible for overseeing service and parts sales worldwide.

“Great service sells,” he said. “The thing that I’ve taken with me is that great services lead to wonderful experiences for customers, and that adds to retention and loyalty. So that’s where I hang my hat.”

On Tuesday, Toney was at Rusty Eck Ford in east Wichita, where he sat down with The Eagle for a brief interview.

Q. 1 Why are you in Wichita?

A. I’m in Wichita primarily to visit Rusty Eck Ford. … It’s my first opportunity to come here and visit this facility.

Q. 2 Global customer service would imply you’re crisscrossing the world. Is that true?

A. I’m traveling a lot. This year I’ll travel 150,000 miles. I’ll go to China and India and Russia and Europe two or three times, and South America. … And the one thing we want to do all over the world is make sure our customers have a good experience.

We find that all over the world, customers are pretty much the same. Of course, there are cultural differences, but they want to know you’re going to stand behind your product and you are going to deliver them products that have value and improve their lives.

Q. 3 Was your goal in college to work in the auto industry, given your five years at American Honda and 15 years at Ford?

A. Coming out of college, I always kind of wanted to work for some of the iconic American companies. Caterpillar (where Toney worked for 16 years) was certainly one. Then I went to work for Honda for a while, and that was a great experience.

But when I had an opportunity to come to Ford, it felt right. It’s like a … big company that feels small. I attribute it to the fact that the Ford family is so much a part of the fabric of the company.

Q. 4 What kind of car do you drive?

A. I’m driving a Lincoln MKZ, which, of course, is a luxury brand for Ford. Very popular. Wonderful design.

Q. 5 No Mustang?

A. Not yet, but I’m getting ready to buy one. I just got my kids educated and out of the house, so now I’m about to invest in some nice toys, one of which might be a Shelby Mustang or just a Mustang GT. Les (Eck, Rusty Eck’s owner) has one sitting down there that looks pretty good.

This story was originally published July 2, 2015 at 3:55 PM with the headline "5 questions with Frederiek Toney."