Infiniti Offers Owners A Personal Assistant

Infiniti is going old school with a new customer-service program that has some things in common with General Motors' OnStar: a real person on hand to help Infiniti owners and give them advice.

While GM's product is a rear-view-mirror mounted technology, Infiniti's product is not physically linked to a vehicle -- it can be used either within or outside of one's car.

Infiniti says the Infiniti Personal Assistant can offer assistance on driving directions, guides, weather, dining suggestions and reservations, movie times and reviews, travel, emergency assistance, stock market information, product reviews, sports stats and other queries.

The program, within the Infiniti's Total Ownership Experience, is intended as (in the company's words) "'anything, anytime, anywhere' concierge service with the personal touch of talking to real people." It's free for the first four years from the date of purchase of a new Infiniti vehicle.

New owners register for the service before taking delivery of their vehicle. The service, which is managed by Dallas-based MyStar, is delivered via cell phone, emails, text messaging or online. The program also allows users to buy a four-year companion account for a different phone number, and Infiniti is also offering a version for people who buy a Certified Pre-Owned vehicle.

Infiniti ran a nine-month test of the program in four major cities. The company says top user requests have included directory assistance, dining suggestions and driving directions.

Ray Daniels, with Infiniti product communications, says the company plans to market the new platform, but is still working out details. "We created IPA because we heard over and over that people's lives were growing ever more complicated," he says. "Furthermore, people felt like they were losing that 'personal touch.' We discovered that our customers really just want to know, 'Can you help me out?'"

Daniels says the IPA product does not involve apps, icons, virtual people, or digital assistants and voices. "It's not paired to a smartphone app or any other interactive platform," he says. "It's literally an assistant on the other end of the phone waiting to be of service."

Daniels says Infiniti's point of difference is the fact that it is not linked to the vehicle. "It's always available to you at all times." He offers an example: "If you leave a shirt in a hotel, just contact Infiniti Personal Assistant, and they'll call the hotel to make arrangements for the shirt to be delivered to you."

Of course, you can make the call yourself, he says -- but the idea is a kind of premium experience that obviates one having to do the heavy lifting. "Sure, you can use your smartphone to look up the hotel information, but you'll have to scroll through pages, call yourself, and see the process all the way through to the end. With IPA, it's one number, a quick friendly conversation, and you're done."

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