GM Deploys Engineers to Dealerships to Gather Customer Feedback

General Motors Co. is sending some of its product engineers to dealers in the U.S. to find out what customers and service technicians like and don't like about the company's vehicles.

The professional development assignment program, which began in 2013, has so far rotated about 90 engineers through one-month stints at dealerships representing all four GM brands. The engineers finish up their tour learning about how Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla., manages customer relations.

GM says the program has generated some 2,000 "observations," including actionable findings that are routed back to the company's product developers.