Maruti tops customer service, workshops location is issue: JD Power

Mumbai, 31 October 2013: In an indication of how important service continues to be as an aspect of ownership, the J.D. Power Asia Pacific 2013 India Customer Service Index (CSI) study says that though the number of workshops in automakers’ service networks has increased significantly, their establishment in locations where car owners often live or work is not aligned to customer needs. Therefore, it still takes vehicle owners the same amount of time to reach a service workshop as it did in 2009, four years ago, the study said.

The study, now in its 17th year, measures satisfaction among car owners who visit authorised dealership service centres for maintenance or repair work between the first 12 to 24 months of vehicle ownership. Satisfaction is assessed in five factors - service quality; vehicle pick-up; service advisor; service facility; and service initiation. Overall customer satisfaction is measured on a 1,000-point scale, with a higher score indicating higher satisfaction.

Convenience of location is among the key reasons of workshop choice among vehicle owners in India over the past five years. Yet proximity of service workshops remains an issue that is further compounded by the uneven growth of new-vehicle sales in various regions and cities. New-vehicle sales have increased in areas that have fewer, or are farther away from, workshops. As a result, the study finds that the time it takes vehicle owners to reach a workshop—25 to 30 minutes, on average—has remained largely unchanged during the past five years.

To handle this, the study says automakers and dealerships are attempting to manage their per day intake of service vehicles by encouraging customers to schedule an appointment. 70 percent of customers made an appointment for service in 2013, compared with 65 percent in 2012.However, these service volumes have not been sufficiently aligned to manpower and infrastructure planning. While 82 percent of customers are attended to immediately, 18 percent still have to wait, an increase from 16 percent in 2012. Among customers who have to wait to get their vehicle in for service when they arrive at the workshop, 62 percent had made an appointment.

According to Arora, “It is important for dealerships to ensure that skilled manpower is available to ensure that the process is smooth and waiting time down. This is likely to become a key driver of overall satisfaction with the after-sales service process in India.”

Overall customer satisfaction with the dealership service experience remains unchanged in 2013 from 2012 at 834 index points. While satisfaction with the service facility was up four points in 2013, the gain is offset by a four-point drop in the service initiation factor; all other factors remain unchanged from 2012. Maruti ranked highest in customer satisfaction with dealer service for a 14th consecutive year, with a score of 876. It performed well across all factors. Hyundai (833) and Honda (825) follow in the rankings. Hyundai was cited as the most improved brand thanks to significant improvements achieved across all five factors.

The overall quality of service completed continues to show consistently performance across the industry year over year. While 93 percent of owners indicated that the work was done correctly the first time, which is consistent with 2012 results, 71 percent of owners indicate that their vehicles were returned cleaner after the service—a 7 percent increase from 2012.

Vehicle owners who are highly satisfied with dealer service tend to have higher levels of advocacy and loyalty to the dealership and the brand. Among owners who are highly satisfied with their service experience at the dealership (service satisfaction scores averaging 949 or higher), 93 percent indicate they “definitely would” revisit their service dealer for post-warranty service. In contrast, only 32 percent of less-satisfied owners (service satisfaction scores averaging 766 or lower) say the same. Similarly, 88 percent of highly satisfied owners indicate they “definitely would” purchase their next vehicle from the service dealer, compared with just 30 percent of those who are less satisfied.

The 2013 CSI study was based on evaluations from 7,477 vehicle owners. Fieldwork was done from May to August 2013 and included those who bought their vehicles between May 2011 and August 2012.