MERCEDES-Benz customers deserve a higher standard of service than they have received in the past - and sweeping changes are being made to make sure they get it. Changes to the management structure have already been set in motion.

The company's field force staff are now helping to train dealers in preparation for new products and a new service-oriented culture, revealed Mercedes-Benz UK managing director Paul Halata. As a new four-seater cabriolet CLK led a series of fresh model announcements on the German company's stand at Geneva, Halata said: 'I believe we have not been as competitive as we should have been.

'From now on, we intend to put a sharper focus on the attention we give to our customers. People spending a lot of money on their vehicles need to deal with an organisation which really is concerned with their wishes and desires. This is why we are changing our culture,' he said. Among changes to customer-facing services to be introduced over the next 12 months is a single-number enquiry line to deal with calls ranging from requests for information to service assistance.