Maruti Suzuki tops customer satisfaction with dealer service, says survey
Maruti Suzuki, the largest car manufacturer in India, has been ranked highest in customer satisfaction in dealer service in India for the 14th consecutive year. It was based on a 2013 Customer Service Index (CSI) study conducted by J.D. Power Asia Pacific, an international market research company.
The study basically informs that, even though the number of workshops have increased, their establishment in key locations where vehicle owners live/work is not tuned to customer requirements. The 17-year old study measures satisfaction among vehicle owners who visit an authorized dealership service center for maintenance or repair work between the first 12 to 24 months of vehicle ownership. It measures overall satisfaction in five factors in order of priority, namely service quality, vehicle pick-up, service advisor, service facility and service initiation. Overall customer satisfaction is measured on a scale of 1,000, higher the better.
On a comparison with last year, the study shows that 70 per cent of customers made an appointment for service in 2013, in comparison with 65 percent in 2012. But this is not done in sync with labour and equipment requirement, because of which 82 percent of customers are attended to immediately when they arrive at the workshop, 18 percent still have to wait to get their vehicle in for service, an increase from 16 percent in 2012. Among customers who have to wait, 62 percent had already scheduled for an appointment.
Maruti has ranked highest in customer satisfaction with dealer service, with a score of 876 with Hyundai, a close second (833) and Honda (825). Hyundai is also the most improved brand in the study, with significant improvements achieved across all five factors. Industry standards of service quality has also seen improvement. While 93 percent of vehicle owners said that their work was done correctly the first time, similar to 2012, 71 per cent said that their vehicles were returned cleaner after the service, a 7 percent increase from 2012. Among highly satisfied customers, 93 per cent indicate they 'definitely would' go to the service dealer again for post-warranty service and 88 per cent also said they 'definitely would' purchase their next vehicle from the service dealer.
The 2013 India Customer Service Index Study is based on evaluations from 7,477 vehicle owners. The study was fielded from May to August 2013 and includes owners who purchased their vehicle between May 2011 and August 2012.
