Jaguar Ranks Highest in Customer Satisfaction among Luxury Brands;
Buick Ranks Highest among Mass Market Brands for Second Consecutive Year
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif.: 18 March 2015 — As the percentage of all dealer service visits related to automotive recalls reaches 16 percent—surpassing the recent peak of 15 percent in 2011—satisfaction among recall customers continues to improve, according to the J.D. Power 2015 U.S. Customer Service Index (CSI) StudySM released today.
The study measures customer satisfaction with service at a franchised dealer facility for maintenance or repair work among owners and lessees of 1- to 5-year-old vehicles.
The study finds that the overall CSI among customers who take their vehicle to a dealer for recall-related work improved to 789 on a 1,000-point scale, up from 777 in 2014. This increase, combined with a slight decline in overall satisfaction, reduced the negative satisfaction gap between recall visits and overall CSI. There is an 11-point gap in satisfaction between customers with a recall visit and those with a non-recall visit, compared with a gap of 27 points in 2014 and 21 points in 2013. Furthermore, satisfaction is 8 points higher among customers with a recall visit than among those with a repair visit (781).
“Even though recalls can create a large influx of customers into the service department and really strain capacity, automakers are better prepared to handle recalls than they were a few years ago,” said Chris Sutton, vice president, U.S. automotive retail practice at J.D. Power. “Manufacturers have shown that it is possible to turn a potential negative into a positive when it comes to recalls if they’re done in a way that doesn’t inconvenience the customer.”
Highest-Ranked Nameplates
Jaguar ranks highest in satisfaction with dealer service among luxury brands, with a score of 877. Following Jaguar in the luxury ranking are Lexus (870), Audi (865), Lincoln (861) and Cadillac (858).
With a CSI score of 836, Buick ranks highest among mass market brands for a second consecutive year. Rounding out the top five mass market brands in the ranking are MINI (834), Volkswagen (818), GMC (811) and Chevrolet (807).
KEY FINDINGS
- Overall customer satisfaction with dealer service averages 852 among luxury brands and 792 among mass market brands.
- Dealers that offer some type of express lane for customers who do not schedule service appointments substantially outperform those that do not offer this option (819 vs. 764, respectively). Among customers servicing at a dealership with an express lane, 52 percent indicate speaking to a service advisor immediately, compared with 38 percent of those servicing at a non-express lane dealer.
- Despite widespread availability of Internet service appointment scheduling, only 9 percent of customers book appointments via the Internet, compared with 73 percent who call for an appointment. Forty-five percent of customers say they are unaware that Internet scheduling is available to them.
- Satisfaction is substantially higher among customers who work with the same service advisor they worked with in the past than among those who work with a new advisor (824 vs. 769, respectively). Nearly two-thirds (63%) of customers indicate having worked with the same service advisor in the past.
- While 29 percent of customers say that the service advisor recommended additional work, the success rate of those recommendations—or the proportion of customers who agree to have the work performed—is 47 percent. The average dollar total service spend for customers who have the additional recommended work done at the dealership is $277, compared with $171 for those who do not have the additional recommended work done.
The 2015 U.S. CSI Study is based on responses from more than 70,000 owners and lessees of 2010 to 2014 model-year vehicles. The study was fielded between November and December 2014.
J.D. POWER RANKS JAGUAR HIGHEST AMONG LUXURY BRANDS IN 2015 CUSTOMER SERVICE INDEX STUDY
- Jaguar F-TYPE helps propel British brand to the top-ranked luxury automotive manufacturer for 2015 U.S. customer service
- Jaguar scores third leadership ranking in recent J. D Power customer studies: 2015 Customer Service Index (#1 among luxury brands); 2014 Initial Quality Survey (#2 among all industry brands); 2014 Sales Satisfaction Index (#3 among luxury brands)
- J.D. Power Customer Service Index (CSI) Studysmmeasures satisfaction with dealer service for maintenance and repair
(MAHWAH, NJ) – March 18, 2015 – TheJaguar brand has been recognized today by J.D. Power as the highest achieving automotive luxury brand in the United States for customer satisfaction with retailer service for vehicle maintenance and repair. According to the 2015 J.D. Power CSI study, Jaguar retailers provided the highest ranked service of any luxury auto brand in the U.S. to customers during the first three years of ownership.
“The Jaguar brand has undergone a tremendous transformation over the last few years with new models like the F-TYPE, increased focus on customer care and tremendous investment from our retailers in their facilities and processes,” said Joe Eberhardt, President and CEO, Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC. “It is especially gratifying to have our customers recognize, through J.D. Power, the high quality of their Jaguar vehicle service experience. Our plan is to build on this momentum even further with new products and customer first programs on the way.”
The CSI study includes an assessment of the following service categories: service initiation, service advisor, service facility, vehicle pick-up and service quality. Scores for each measure are based on a 1,000-point scale. Jaguar ranked highest among luxury brands in the industry with a total score of 877 overall, up from 6thlast year.
The 2015 U.S. CSI Study is based on responses from more than 70,000 owners and lessees of 2010 to 2014 model year vehicles. The study was fielded between November and December 2014.
Last year, Jaguar was recognized as a J.D. Power Customer Champion, an honor received by only 50 companies in the U.S. for their ability to provide the highest level of customer service based on five key areas identified as the J.D. Power 5 Ps: People, Presentation, Price, Process and Product.
The Jaguar lineup is set to expand in the near future with the Jaguar XE sports sedan and the Jaguar F-PACE performance crossover, both coming in 2016. The recently announced all-new 2016 Jaguar XF is the brand’s second model to feature advanced aluminum-intensive architecture and will make its public debut at the 2015 New York International Auto Show on April 1.
BUICK LEADS J.D. POWER CUSTOMER SERVICE INDEX STUDY
Brand tops in service among mass-market brands for second consecutive year
DETROIT – According to the customers surveyed in the J.D. Power 2015 U.S. Customer Service Index (CSI), Buick ranks tops among 20 mass-market brands for the second consecutive year in dealer service satisfaction.
The study measures service satisfaction among owners and lessees of 1- to 5-year-old vehicles in the United States. The CSI focuses on five service areas, with service quality most heavily weighted, and followed by service initiation, service advisor, service facility and vehicle pick-up.
“Superior reliability, quality and customer service is core to every model we bring to market,” said Duncan Aldred, vice president of Buick. “Leading the market in service satisfaction demonstrates that we and our dealers continue to deliver on that commitment.”
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