Service Advisors, Amenities Prove Critical in Driving Customer Satisfaction, J.D. Power Finds

MUNICH: 28 June 2017 — Dealers who communicate with customers before, during and after vehicle servicing are more likely to generate repeat business, according to the J.D. Power 2017 Germany Customer Service Index (CSI) Study,^SM released today.

“Vehicles are an expensive investment, so consumers want to be sure they can trust the person who is servicing their vehicle,” said Dr. Axel Sprenger, managing director of J.D. Power Europe. “Service advisors who communicate with the customer about the work being done—and follow up after the visit to make sure the work was completed satisfactorily—are building a trusting relationship. If the customer has a positive experience, they’ll recommend the facility to family and friends.”

Among highly satisfied customers (overall satisfaction scores of 900 or higher on a 1,000-point scale), 79% say they “definitely will” recommend the service facility to family, friends and co-workers, and 72% say they “definitely will” purchase or lease a vehicle from the dealership that recently serviced their vehicle. When satisfaction declines (700-899), intended loyalty slips to 43% for recommendations and 38% for purchase loyalty.

Following are some of the study’s key findings:

• Traditional amenities help drive satisfaction: Offering complimentary snacks and beverages significantly increases service facility satisfaction (+83 points), as does providing access to a coffee shop (+67 points) and providing a television (+53 points).
• Digital service and infrastructure can generate higher CSI: Younger customers are more likely to prefer to communicate with their service advisor via text message or messaging apps and also are more likely to want to schedule their service visit via these media. Additionally, premium brand service facilities are more likely than volume brand service facilities to offer wireless internet (30% vs. 16%, respectively), but only half of all service customers say it is “very easy” to connect to their dealer’s network. Those who say it is “very easy” to connect to Wi-Fi express much higher satisfaction with their service facility (833) compared with those who say it is “very/somewhat difficult” (697). To maximize the Wi-Fi offering, dealers need to make it easy to use by providing very clear instructions on how to connect to the network, and test to ensure that the signal is strong and stable in all areas where customers might use the service. Ease of use, speed and stability of the digital amenities are crucial for customer satisfaction.

Satisfaction and Brand Rankings

Overall customer satisfaction with dealer service, which is based solely on the first three years of vehicle ownership, averages 772 in the premium brand segment in 2017, up from 747 in 2016, and 750 in the volume brand segment, up from 732.

Volvo ranks highest among premium brands, with a score of 790, a 23-point improvement from 2016 when it also ranked highest. Volvo is followed by Mercedes-Benz (779) and Audi (765).

Mitsubishi ranks highest among volume brands, with a score of 799, followed by Toyota (792) and Nissan (765).

The Germany Customer Service Index (CSI) Study, now in its third year, explores customer satisfaction with their servicing dealer by examining five measures (listed in order of importance): service quality (26%); service initiation (23%); service advisor (19%); vehicle pick-up (18%); and service facility (14%). The study is based on responses of 8,329 respondents who registered their new vehicle between February 2014 and April 2016. The study was fielded from February through April 2017.

J.D. Power is a global leader in consumer insights, advisory services and data and analytics. These capabilities enable J.D. Power to help its clients drive customer satisfaction, growth and profitability. Established in 1968, J.D. Power is headquartered in Costa Mesa, Calif., and has offices serving North/South America, Asia Pacific and Europe. J.D. Power is a portfolio company of XIO Group, a global alternative investments firm headquartered in London, and is led by its four founders: Athene Li, Joseph Pacini, Murphy Qiao and Carsten Geyer.

See the online press release at http://www.jdpower.com/pr-id/2017087.

Media Relations Contact
Dr. Thomas Grethlein; Agentur Freundeskreis; Nuremberg, Germany; +49-911-8946-7777; thg@agentur-freundeskreis.de
Geno Effler; J.D. Power; Costa Mesa, Calif., USA; +1-714-621-6224; media.relations@jdpa.com

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