Power has predicted that due to depressed auto sales during the recession, dealer service volumes will continue to decline through 2013 before rebounding.
Vehicle owners who visit dealer facilities for service are “considerably more satisfied” with their experience at dealerships than with service from independent facilities, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2012 U.S. Customer Service Index (CSI) Study.
Among customers of dealer facilities, overall satisfaction with the service experience averages 38 points higher on a 1,000-point scale, compared with non-dealer facilities (787 vs. 749, respectively). In addition, 79% of all service visits among owners of one- to- three-year-old vehicles are performed at dealer facilities—up from 74% in 2011 and 72% in 2010.
It seems a shift in the type of work done is largely if not entirely responsible for the gains. In 2012, 72% of vehicle owners said their latest dealer service visit was for maintenance rather than repair, an increase from 63% in 2011. Customer satisfaction with maintenance visits is usually higher than satisfaction with repair visits when something breaks, since routine maintenance tends to be less expensive, less time-consuming and increasingly free under a new vehicle warranty or at least competitively priced with independents.
Overall satisfaction with dealer service improves by 19 points in 2012, compared with 2011, with gains in all five study measures. Among the 33 rank-eligible brands, 28 improve in service satisfaction from 2011, with eight brands improving by at least 20 points.
“Steady improvements in vehicle quality, longer intervals between recommended service visits and a higher mix of maintenance service events have had a positive effect on overall dealer service satisfaction,” said Chris Sutton, senior director at J.D. Power and Associates
The study examines satisfaction among vehicle owners who visit a service department for maintenance or repair work. The CSI rankings are based on dealer service performance during the first three years of new-vehicle ownership, which typically represents the majority of the vehicle warranty period. Five measures are examined to determine overall customer satisfaction with dealer service (listed in order of importance): service quality, service initiation, service advisor, service facility and vehicle pick-up.
"The challenge for automakers will be to maintain high levels of satisfaction once service volumes do rebound."
Among mass-market brands, Mini ranks highest for a second consecutive year with a score of 809. Mini performs particularly well in four of the five measures: service quality, service advisor, service facility and vehicle pick-up. Also among the top five brands in the mass-market segment are Buick (805), GMC (803), Chevrolet (801) and Hyundai (791). Of mass-market brands, Nissan (which gains 43 points) and Toyota (gains 31 points) achieve the greatest improvements from 2011.
