Congratulations Cadillac. The GM brand scooped first place in BusinessWeek’s first-ever ranking for the best provider of automotive related customer service. Overall, the wreathed ones placed third, surpassed only by insurance company USAA and Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. From its lofty perch near the top the elite twenty-five, Cadillac can look down upon such notable companies such as Starbucks (tenth), Southwest Airlines (thirteenth), and Apple (eighteenth). Caddy’s kudos offer beleaguered GM supporters a much needed glimmer of hope.
Of course, Cadillac is not the only automaker on BusinessWeek’s Customer Service Elite list. Lexus ranked seventh. Porsche staked its position on the leader board in seventeenth position. Buick and Lincoln round out the list in twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth places. Cadillac trumped its rivals with an A+ score for process (i.e. warrantees, service policies, etc.) and an A+ for its staff’s friendliness and conscientiousness.
BusinessWeek’s scoring system was based primarily– but not exclusively– upon data provided by J.D. Power & Associates. BusinessWeek aggregated 2006 J.D. Power customer service scores with their own survey data, weighted each company’s score based upon their prominence within their respective industry, and eliminated niche players and small-time operators. Companies such as Jetblue were also eliminated from the list based on recent unfavorable information.
As TTAC contributor Michael Karesh will tell you, that’s a lot of statistical tomfoolery. Even so, BusinessWeek’s conclusions are legitimate enough for water cooler analysis.
When not engaging in automotive floccinaucinihilipilification, I work in an industry highly dependent on top-notch customer service. I know first hand that providing class leading service is no accident. My company pays research firms to contact our customers to determine whether or not they’re satisfied with our service. Each month survey results are tracked, analyzed and acted upon by all layers of management.
Cadillac achieved distinction because their service organization is committed to world class customer service. Cadillac developed a strategy for delivering upon that commitment, and executed it.
To wit: last year, Cadillac took a page out of Lexus’ playbook. They empowered their dealers to decide for themselves if The General should honor warranty repairs after the warranty had expired. Additionally and at long last, Caddy now provides loaner cars to all customers while their ride is in the shop.
On the corporate level, Cadillac provides its dealer with large financial incentives– up to $100k per quarter– for maintaining high levels of customer service. Cadillac General Manager James E. Taylor says the program is worth the expense. He says buyers are five times more likely to buy another Caddy if they have a good service experience over a bad one.
You don’t have to be a Corvette owner abused by a Chevrolet dealership to know that Cadillac’s elite customer service status is evidence that there’s healthy tissue amid the gangrene afflicting the General’s seven other domestic limbs. Yet BusinessWeek’s survey results hint at the storm clouds gathering around this silver lining.
While Caddy scored 47 points higher than the auto industry average for customer service, only 51% of survey respondents said that they would definitely recommend the brand to other prospective buyers. By comparison, 79% of USAA customers said they’d recommend the brand. Seventh place Lexus and seventeenth place Porsche outscored Cadillac at 55% each.
This statistic is telling. It examines the composite buying and ownership experience, rather than just satisfaction with service. A person will only recommend the brand if they were also satisfied with the quality, reliability and prestige of the product, and are satisfied that they got a good deal (value).
While there’s no doubt Cadillac dealerships are vigorously pursuing customer service on the sharp end, the brand’s recommendation score is lower because their overall experience is compromised by the oft documented design and (perceived?) reliability woes that continue to plague General Motors.
Cadillac customer service is proof positive that [at least] one cylinder in GM’s corporate engine block is firing, but the company needs to be firing on ALL cylinders to reverse its terminal trajectory.
Customer service honors do nothing to relieve GM from constricting union contracts and burdensome legacy obligations. They don’t cure The General’s dependence upon light trucks. Or improve its ability to produce profitable small cars. Or eliminate its bureaucratic morass. Or prevent corporate bean counters from neutering innovative designs with cheap components. Or help the company divest wayward brands. Or focus its product offerings. Or increase the speed of product improvements.
Anyway, never let it be said that TTAC is incapable of giving any automaker– foreign or domestic– the respect it deserves. Cadillac’s customer service is a shining star in America’s automotive firmament. If General Motors addresses all its other problems with equal determination and commitment, the company might just pull itself out of its death spiral. We can only hope.
[To read the whole "Customer Service Elite" click here.]
Some love for the General on TTAC? I can’t believe it…
Really great article, William. And I can speak first hand of a fantastic dealer experience with Cadillac a few months ago, while shopping for a car, and it stands in stark contrast to what I’ve seen at complacent “you’ll buy it from us because you want it” Lexus, BMW, and Mercedes dealers in the area.
In other words, someone at Cadillac, maybe the Cadillac dealers themselves, realizes the ship is sinking, and everyone needs to do their job to keep it afloat.
Congrats to Caddy! Now let’s see some world class cars, and that 51% “would definitely recommend” number can increase.
I think you said it right, this is a very small step in the right direction, 1 brand down, a ton more to go and that is just for customer service, but still a small step in the right direction.
Good that Caddy did well with customer service. Those of us in the service sector should all hope to do so well.
Too bad that their US product lineup is currently uneven, and with the new CTS months away, why bother getting the current one? The DTS is of course Cadillac’s top seller, ‘Slade trio vulnerable to rising gas prices, STS and SRX are dead in the water saleswise. XLR? Uh, what’s that?
starlightmica: I agree: Caddy's lineup is everywhere at once and nowhere at all. Their marketing is HUGELY uneven. A bunch of Caddies can go from 0 to 60 in under six? Who cares? Leave that to the Germans. When Cadillac builds properly stylish automobiles with cushy rides and classy cabins (in a white loafer with gold buckle kinda way), THEN they'll have something. In short, the brand's product developers need to embrace their inner Guid ("gweed"). But you know what? Lexus proved that great customer service can be as important– if not more important– than the car itself. If Caddy's stealing their thunder, well, good on ya mate!
Well done, William!
It’s nice to hear GM is getting something right.
Not to be out surveyed by JDP, Consumer Reports weighs in.
At the end of November, into early December of 2006:
“To learn how Americans perceive automobile brands, the Consumer Reports National Research Center conducted a random, nationwide telephone survey…Respondents were asked to name the best vehicle in each category.”
“Brand loyalty is a key measure of long-term success for brand and products, with the general belief that it is easier to retain a customer than win over a new one.”
“Brand loyalty rank:
Toyota 78%
Honda 60%
Ford 51%
Chevrolet 50%”
(Toyota stands out, Honda hangs in, but Ford and Chevy may be a suprise to some. My guess? Satisfied F-150 and Silverado owners. Car owners might tell another story, but the CR Brand Report Card does not indicate if they made a distinction between the two types of vehicles. So we can only speculate.)
What’s important?
“The survey found that 7 in 10 consumers considered two factors to be most important when evaluating a new car: Safety (72 percent) and Quality (69 percent).”
Pistonheads be heard!:
“About half the respondents found Performance (52 percent) and Value (52 percent) to be important.”
Ford, again:
“Top performers in Safety and Quality—Ford, Honda, and Toyota—proved popular throughout this study.”
“Madison Avenue can only buy so much goodwill in the marketplace. Ultimately, it is good product that appeals most to shoppers. – Consumers speak most loudly with their wallets, and the automakers that listen and offer high-quality products will likely be rewarded.”
This is certainly interesting:
“Supporting the perception and brand loyalty numbers, 24 percent of Americans are considering a Toyota for their next purchase.”
If we trust that stat (24%), it represents a sizeable number of potential car buyers.
RF, you want the boats of yesteryear, but who will be the first person to laugh at them and ask if they lost all touch with current or potential customers? People that want that buy the boats, buy the DTS or Lucerne or even Avalon, Caddy is trying to compete with the Germans, and that is with great handling cars, that perform well, even Lexus is doing that, and Lexus is the best Caddy on the market.
tones03: Where did you get the idea that I don't like boats? A proper luxo-barge is a wonder to behold! The Land Rover LR2 is an excellent craft; I'd have one in a second (if, you know, I needed one). Chillin' in a Navigator is like flying business class. And although I've heard good things about the new LS' handling, there's no way you could call the previous models "great handling." Still, point taken: Lexus is the best Caddy on the market. If Caddy can make a more stylish Lexus, well, there you go.
RF, sorry I should have said most critics would laugh at them and ask what the hell they were thinking, my wording was bad.
I agree with you comment at the end, you have to start somehwere. Lexus did it, and now has a strong following, granted they have awesome quality. Caddy got half of it down, now have great quality and everything else will follow.
Great news for Cadillac. One of the General’s problems is not getting the positive news out when they should be. This should be shouted from the rooftops. Let’s see how they handle this one
Too bad that customer service does not extend to the other GM divisions.
We had battle after battle over the years with warranty service for your basic GM’s – 02 Cavalier, 91 Silverado Pickup, and a 99 Olds with the perennial leaking intake on its 3.1. I wound up doing the gasket myself.
We never tried to be unreasonable on warranty, but we almost needed a grand jury to convene to make a decision. It was obvious (just like HMO insurance) the first answer is no to ensure an immediate savings from the defined statistical number of customers that will pursue it no further.
For me, I won’t ever buy another GM again.
I hope that someone from GM is reading this – do you morons realize that CUSTOMER SERVICE is the #1 reason for return customers? You saved a few hundred bucks but lost the customer.
Service or Product. Both iwould be great, but if I have to choose one over the other, I choose Product. I’ve had some downright awful purchase and service experiences at various Honda dealerships. But their product is generally great. The time you spend at a dealership represents 0.0002% if the total vehicle ownership experience. I’d rather suffer briefly at the dealership and own a superb automobile than get my a$$ kissed and own a mediocre car.
Mud
Ouch
This could be a case of too little too late. When I think of Cadillac, I think of one word. Allante. I owned one of these "vaunted" cars and as a result will struggle to go back to the brand…ever. Between the excuses and bad design (brakes that fail when the"anti-lock" system disables itself – if that isn't a heartstopper) added to the behaviour of "what's an Allante?" from the dealer the month after they canned the model in 1993, it only reflects the current desperate state the General is in. I have owned several GM products since this car, and they were "ok" – but only just. When I now go shopping, there are just too many excellent products to choose from – at better prices. With four cars in my driveway as of this moment, NONE are made by a so called North American brand. And when I try to buy one, they can't compete. Even the XLR was a rebadged Corvette (the one car GM makes that I WOULD consider) – sheesh! There is an irony in this excellent dealer service rating – that you need to see the dealer AT ALL (other than for oil changes). I own two late model cars that are now in their second year and have NEVER needed to go to the dealer. How can you measure the BEST dealer service? By never having to see one!
Concerns about Cadillac reliability, customer care and resale value put me into an Acura last time out. The car has been excellent, but Acura dealer service is terrible. I will definitely look at a Cadillac next time.
craiggbear:
I agree about never being in a dealer, I rarely go to one also, but when I do being treated well is nice, and makes me not care as much for going there, no matter how little I go. It is a step in the right direction.
Even the XLR was a rebadged Corvette
Who cares, the vette is an awesome car with an awesome platform, GM would be stupid not to build something off of it.
I also dont see how it is any different then then the Camry and ES 330 being the same thing. The stuff that is the same you would never see or know about if they didnt tell you.
Justin Berkowitz: “you’ll buy it from us because you want it” Lexus, BMW, and Mercedes dealers in the area.
Add Honda dealers to the list of those that can easily fall into the same “you need us more than we need you” trap, IMHO.
HeyTones03 – at least I can put a set of golf clubs (two actually) in the back of a Corvette. Not in an XLR. For a 40% higher price, you shouldn’t lose basic function.
And as Gardiner says, add the issue of reliability and resale to the equation. Look at the drop of an SRX versus a Lexus RX330. Or a 3 year old STS versus a 3 year old Lexus LS. Hmmm.
HeyTones03 – at least I can put a set of golf clubs (two actually) in the back of a Corvette. Not in an XLR. For a 40% higher price, you shouldn’t lose basic function.
Good point, but if I owned an XLR I would be part of a country club and not worry about bringing my clubs any where.
Also that is what you get when you add a convertible hardtop. Can you put golfclubs in an SL500?? (I really have no idea because I would never buy either an XLR or SL)
LOL – Good point(s)
floccinaucinihilipilification is one of my brother’s favorite words. He uses it sentences all the time, and has made his kids learn how to spell it.
I think the word refers to the act of evaluating something as being worthless. So your use might not be perfect. I’m impressed to see it in print none-the-less.
Enjoyable article.
Michael
I wonder if there is any data on customer service when Cadillac is one brand in a multi-brand dealership. In my area, there is a Chevrolet/Cadillac (used to be Olds as well) dealer. I have to wonder if this dealership has the same level of service to its Caddy owners as stand-alone Cadillac dealers…
http://www.worldwidewords.org/weirdwords/ww-flo2.htm
If you look at the industry for personal computers, hardly any of the manufacturing is done in the U.S. Only the design, customization (final assembly), and service happens here. Dell keeps a lot of customers simply because of its service contracts. If the American auto industry could magically rid itself of the unions, this could be a profitable model to follow.
Actually, come to think of it, that’s pretty much what the Japanese are doing.
It is nice to see this new in the mix on this site. There is a misconception that American automotive companies are bad across the board…this is not true. I wish I could AT LEAST push the idea onto the table that American brand dealers are top-notch–especially GM dealers.
I hate to think of what the foreign marketshare would be like if they invested as much into their dealer network as American automakers have.
Indeed, those programs that the dealers enter DO help create good customer service. They are well worth the effort and they create good customer value.
Here is a quote that has some truth to it (though it proves to have less truth as time (and US mfg marketshare) pass): “A good dealer can save a bad car but a good car cannot save a bad dealer.”
Foriegn car dealerships would be a whole lot better if those companies could have their own people running them. A toyota or honda dealership that gets it would treat their customers like the parent companies want and would score much higher than cadillac could dream of. It’s once the American way of doing car business kicks in does the experience start to suck.
Cavendel: I think [floccinaucinihilipilification] refers to the act of evaluating something as being worthless. So your use might not be perfect.
When you read my upcoming review of the Dodge Avenger you’ll know that my use of this word is precisely accurate.
I recently purchased a new car. Looked at a mix of cars from 25-40K street price. Because I was at an auto mega mall I looked at a number of brands that I would not have otherwise considered. Wanted 4 door with some bells and whistles and leather. One of the cars I looked at was a cadillac CTS . Priced about 38K MSRP. To make a long story short the fit and finish was IMO significantly worse than Honda and style more garish than Hyundai. Having recently shopped for a car I am left to wonder what if Detroit tasked their MBAs to spend just $1,000 more on interior materials (better plastics, carpeting and leather) per car. Would that improve appeal to the american consumer. When even Cadillac shouts cheap the US auto industry is in trouble.
I ended up with an Accord EX V6 at 27K all options except nav. Pretty much a vanilla car. Quite fast but stability control removes much of the road feel. This car has clean lines, an elegant understated look and hopefully will be dependable.
Let’s not confuse the subject here. Cadillac won these honors for customer service, not for styling, quality, performance, whatever. If your post above is talking about features and design, well, you’re on the wrong part of the forum.
Cadillac, being the only USA premium brand worthy of mention, has made tremendous improvements in the last decade. While many of us hate the styling, etc., of the current Cadillac lineup, it is reassuring to know that beleagured automakers are not slashing their service, at least not for the premium brand. Other companies should re-learn that a flashy design or a hip marketing campaign does not earn loyal customers. Service and quality do.
Now about the ugly, edgy Cadillac styling….
William C Montgomery wrote:
When you read my upcoming review of the Dodge Avenger you’ll know that my use of this word is precisely accurate.
Fair enough LOL.
I was just excited to see that word. I’ve never actually seen it used outside of conversations with my brother.
Good for them. Now if GM would take the Cadillac formula for good customer service, bottle it, and force it down the throats of the rest of the dealers under their various brands they might actually start selling more cars.
I think the General is starting to realize that customer satisfaction at the dealer is paramount to repeat business. I for one own a 2005 impala and brought it in to the Chevrolet dealership for regular maintenance the other day. The mechanic noticed an oil leak and the dealership replaced the gasket. They got me a rental car free of charge and my vehicle was ready the next day, all covered under warranty. This in itself isnt a big deal but I have only 4000 km left untill my warranty runs out, and they could have said nothing about the oil leak!
They are making leaps and bounds!
MOTO
Sorry I got off topic. On topic I will say that when I was looking at the cadillac I was helped by a very pleasant young woman in her early 20’s who really didn’t know much about the car. She did walk me inside to the sales manager who didn’t get up from his chair but handed me a sales brochure. I was the only person at the dealership that sunny Saturday afternoon.
I am in the camp of the earlier poster who would put up with much poor treatment for a good product than good treatment for a poor product.
This practice must be followed by all of G.M.’s brands.God I hope Corporate gets this,my job depends on it.
Seeing how I only purchase G.M. products,I will only return to dealerships where customer service is above average to say the least.If I enter the dealership,chances are they will know I work for the General.The true litmus test resides in my wife taking the vehicle in for maintanance.Another inconspicuious customer in the guise of my better half & the real truths revealed.
One trip by my wife to a local dealer was enough to seal their fate as far as purchasing another vehicle on there lots.I wont bother with the details at this point,but I did call a guy in Detriot & magically,the dealership wanted to make amends!Too late–and unfortunately,many people I fear,with no ties to any automaker will not return.Cant say I blame them.
This is why the above article rings clear,new direction in quality and assembly will amount to nothing as long as the dealerships are held to little or no accountability.
Many customers will never know the utter frustration we on “the inside” feel when a former customer swears off the product because some cheesy sales rep. or service dpt. personnel cant get their act together.Its a shame.
I think Cadillac would do best if it were to be (at least partially) severed from the corporate mothership. They do a great job where they can, but the bean counters pull them back. That, and the bad legacy. I bet half the people who chose not to buy a Cadillac when they had it on their list was because of the 20+ year old reliability stories. Breaking association with the rest of GM would certainly help in that department.
These days, Cadillac appears to go head-to-head with Lexus, and definetely outpaces its main competitor, Mercedes. All it needs to be a market leader is less bean-counting (people who allowed chrome-coverd plastic to replace metal, I’m looking at you) and some respectable line-up. I certainly hope for Caddy’s survival, because I’m still gonna need something to drive when I’ll hit a calmer age. For now, it seems like my only option is buying a piece from Chuck Berry’s collection and keeping it mothballed until retirement.
My friend recently leased a WRX Wagon (shocking, I know). He was trading in his Saabaru.
I went with him to pick up the car and 4 different body panels were scratched. Nothing terrible, but scratched.
So, he left it and a few days later the dealer called to tell him that when they were fixing the bumper, they dropped something and chipped it. This would require a few more days.
As my friend is leasing it, he asked if his first month’s lease payment could be forgiven, since he will have paid nearly two weeks into it and had yet to drive the car away from the lot. No was the answer. My friend insisted that he be compensated in some way.
The Customer Service Rep then said, “Sir, can I give you some advice? Hang up.”
Which sent my rather hot-blooded friend into a tizzy. He called the owner and told him what happened. The owner said, “THAT’S our customer service guy?” He gave my friend free maintenance for the first 60,000 miles.
My friend returned a few days later to pick up the car and… there was another chip in the bumper, a new one. He demanded to to see the Customer Service guy, who tried to shake my friend’s hand. My friend refused and called him all manner of insults.
Long story short, my friend is considering breaking the lease under the Lemon Law.
htn
I think part of that has to do with the Automall and so many vehicles on the lot, I know it wouldnt be hard for a car enthusiast to remember facts about them all but someone that doesnt really care about vehicles may not be able to remember everything (i would say get out of the car sales business then) but I may be wrong. I try to go to dealerships that sell one manufacturer, they seem to be a little nicer and have better customer service.
Jonny Lieberman:
February 28th, 2007 at 5:56 pm
My friend recently leased a WRX Wagon (shocking, I know). He was trading in his Saabaru.
He traded a Saab-badged WRX wagon for a WRX wagon? Huh? Or did he have the “9-2x Linear” sans turbo?
Service is a big part of the auto biz. If a dealer treats his customers like crap, it doesn’t matter to most people if the cars he is selling are highly regarded.
Many years ago, I went into a local Nissan dealer to buy some parts for my sister’s Datsun 210. Despite knowing exactly what I wanted, and having cash in pocket, I was treated like crap. I never forgot that.
The above mentioned Nissan dealer is one in a chain of dealerships owned by the same man. I have avoided setting foot in any of his dealerships since then, even if it means driving miles out of my way to get what I need.
bfg9k:
No, he had the Turbo Aero edition.
His lease was up. He loved the car and wanted another.
This past evening I was reminded of what I like about Cadillac.
I drove a 1999 Cadillac Seville SLS back from a sale I did in Atlanta. The ride was super-smooth, the stereo system was top notch, and the Northstar engine was a perfect companion on the highway.
In fact, I would say that the only edge the Lexus LS series had on the Cadillac was the quality of the interior components. As someone already mentioned, GM could do worse than to spend an extra $1000 on higher quality materials.
On the flip side though, I do like the styling of the Seville from that era much better than any Lexus sedan. An LS from that era would typcially sell for between $6500 and $8500.
I bought the Seville for $3000.
Umm, how is “floccinaucinihilipilification” pronounced? Mirriam-Webster Online tells me it isn’t a word, thus, obviously, won’t pronounce it for me.
Can I use it tonight at my poker game when I think that Johnny Vegas sitting beside me is pluffing on a pair of twos?
K
While a laudible and commendable achievement, I still have my suspicions. For one thing, as someone else pointed out, data can be manipulated, and I’ve never been overly impressed with the J.D. Power rankings. Just seemed like their was too much ‘wiggle room’ in there to put much stock in the rankings. Maybe it’s that high J.D. Power ratings are always heavily touted in the advertisements of domestic manufacturers who are well known to have sub-par products. Seems too much like awards that are easily bought and heavily promoted by the automotive industry. Motor Trend’s ‘Car of the Year’ award comes to mind.
The other questionable aspect is, will it last? GM is notorious for expending great effort and expense on highlighting a particular facet of the automotive buying experience, then quickly moving on to something else. I suspect that GM made an extraordinary effort to get Cadillac to the top of the heap and now, having achieved it, will expend a similiar effort on reducing Cadillac warranty costs, probably beginning with cutting back on the incentives to dealers for maintaining a high level of customer satisfaction.
I think we can see part of Cadillac’s image problem by the fact that on a site full of pistonheads nobody has yet mentioned the CTS V. C’mon, Corvette engine in a luxury sedan! That’s exciting! I think Cadillac has some really exciting cars and if I was in the market for a luxury sedan I would certianly check them out.
It’s a shame that even Caddy isn’t quite as good on the inside as it should be, but I think they look really good. Bling for sure, but a CTS has presence that is unique. The bangled BMWs also have presence actually, but the CTS looks much better to my eyes. Sure you can get a white bread luxury sedan from Lexus or Infiniti but on the other hand… I also have heard good thing about the handling, and of course there is the V series. So far so good. Yet even with all this Cadillac has problems, for example that shaking the GM/American car curse of “unreliability” (real or percieved) and of course getting noticed by people.
At least the dealers aren’t a problem anymore. Let’s hope the new CTS is even better, and maybe Cadillac can really come back.
That is good to hear. One of the vehicles on my list to replace my Mazda is the SRX but paying close to 50k (45 even) for a GM product gives me the willies.
I always liked the DeVilles/Sevilles that I have rented over the past couple of years, though…
Is about time for good old Cadillac to shine again, the dealer prep guys must be working overtime to make the car right, as usually the assembly line cannot be stopped, dont care if 5 mins or whatever, is dealers’ job to fix them.
Cadillac perhaps can sign the Ho ho ho feeling again.
Dealing with angry customers are bad to everybodys’ health too.
GM should be doing this to all models.
Finally they woke up from Johnson administration that the Naam war was over and lousy cars cannot fool buyers much longer, the internet is the worse of all gossip places. used to be were the local coffee shops.
My buddy still cannot get over the fact that he got screwed by Chebby Vega, engine only lasted few thousand miles.
GM had forgot Joe Girard’s 250 rule, good or bad things will spread to 250 people. Lets hope this can continue. Until some smart executive can say we can rest on our laurel now.
Dream50: Umm, how is “floccinaucinihilipilification” pronounced?
/flok-suh-naw-suh-nahy-hil-uh-pil-uh-fi-key-shuhn/
Good luck with your poker game.
It’s a shame that so many customers they lost because of poor customer service will probably never come back.
I only hope Cadillac survives the great GM implosion. In the window of a CTS at the local dealer MSRP 41k – but another tag hanging from the rear vision mirror says they’ll take 25k – poor bastards
Minor error– just change “Sky Blue” to “Jet Blue” in the editorial as I feel this airline company deserves the negative publicity it is receiving. They cancelled my flight from NYC to Nashville BOTH WAYS. THREE DAYS APART. Brock Yates’ axiom stands firm: If you have the time, fly. But if you are in a rush, drive.
I even wish it was a DTS. I’ll take luxobarging over air travel anyday.
Gawd I would take a DTS over a crown vic/lincoln anyday. I rented one in Hawaii and man was that smooth and punchy. The northstar could run circles around a towncar.
I can understand why some of us may be a little skeptical due to J.D. Power’s data being in the mix. I, however am not so sure. I’ll give Cadillac props for this one. Why? Because I have a lot of experience with number five on the list, Wegmans Supermarkets. They are a grocery chain located mainly in central/western NY State, and expanding into PA, MD, NJ, and VA. As both a former employee, and a current customer I can attest to their commitment to customer service. In fact, I won’t shop any where else.
While I can’t attest to Cadillac’s Level of service at the dealership level, I’m willing to give them the benefit of the doubt on this one. Now if GM could just get the other 7/8 right for ALL of their brands(whichever ones remain), I might even go back. GM, look at the other top five, they are all successful company’s. Customer service isn’t ALL they got going for them. Or patriotism, for that matter. Either fix it, or get it over with and go bankrupt so you CAN fix it. Unfortunately, you don’t have the guts for that. Good luck GM. You’ll need it.
I’d venture to say that the 4% between Caddy and Lexus/Porsche on the recommendability stake is probably smaller than the compound error in the statistics…
“but Acura dealer service is terrible”
Ditto my local BMW store. I think they train everyone who works there in Service to not look you in the eye and to ignore you for as long as possible. I does not help at all that the order takers in the front of the store are up to their ears in potential customers.
I can’t think of another car brand that has made such a drastic turn around in the past ten years. Nissan came close but I think Cadillac is still the biggest 180. I hope that the increased customer service is here to stay. While their product needs some work the new CTS looks really sharp and hopefully they can continue it with their other lines as well. I think Cadillac is aiming directly for BMW and not MB or Lexus. The CTS and CTS-V are gunning for the 3 series (although probably closer in size to the 5 series).
This is excellent news, and shows what can happen when you aim at the right target.
To wit: last year, Cadillac took a page out of Lexus’ playbook. They empowered their dealers to decide for themselves if The General should honor warranty repairs after the warranty had expired. Additionally and at long last, Caddy now provides loaner cars to all customers while their ride is in the shop.
Empowered the dealers to decide for themselves … Magic words!
Heh! Don’t take your eyes off the ball, and disregard that little man behind the polls.
“Customer satisfaction” is often a euphemism for “I got my way” and as soon as that answer turns negative, ratings fall.
Free coffee and loaner cars notwithstanding, let’s see the same poll with the same owners on one more question: “Did they fix your car right the first time?”
Dealership service experiences have almost [b]nothing[/b] to do with a brand. It is strictly the general manager’s/owner’s policy that dictates the culture for service.
Following is a great example of my point.
I owned a 2003 Nissan 350z, which was the first model year for the 350z. As some of you may be aware, the car had a few teething problems, most notably tire feathering by 10,000 miles.
I bought my car from what is now Power Nissan in Irvine (it was under different management at the time). I had a few minor warranty issues by 5,000 miles, mainly my power window harness went out twice.
However, by 10,000 miles I started to notice that my tires were feathering on the inside. I took it to Power Nissan and pointed out the problem. They were more than happy to deny my claim, saying that I had sufficient tread left and that there was nothing they could do. They were more than happy, though, to do an oil change and rotate my tires to the tune of $100. I left that place fuming and told the service manager to take a good look at my ass, as that would be the last that they saw of me.
I then took the car over to Tustin Nissan and told the service manager about my feathering issue. He came out, took one look at the car and said, “Yep, your tires are feathering. I’ll schedule an appointment for you tomorrow.” No tread depth measurement, no haggling, just acknowledgement of the problem.
Shortly after that issue, the leather on my steering wheel started to [i]peel[/i] off on my fingers. I again took it back to Tustin Nissan and showed them the (rare) problem. “No problem sir, we’ll cover that under your warranty.” Now mind you this was a $900 steering wheel (according to their parts department). Unfortunately, when I went to pick up my car, my radio stations had changed, the seat was pushed back and the back reclined, and the car smelled of food. I was rather dismayed and decided that while the service was good, I did not want people treating my car like a rental vehicle.
I had another warranty issue with my driver side seat bolster fraying. Most other places would have considered this a ‘wear’ item, but my car had 17,000 miles on it. I took it to Rancho Santa Margarita Nissan and they, like Tustin Nissan, took one look at the seat and told me that they would cover it under warranty.
I have had great success with both Mission Viejo Infiniti and Audi of Mission Viejo. Then again, I had terrible service from Irvine BMW (car was 2 years old and CPO’d, ECU died, took it in on a Friday, they can’t get the part until Monday, they tell me that they would comp me the rental on Saturday but I have to pay for Sunday and Monday?!).
Great news indeed for Cadillac. Too bad Cadillac (car) sales are in the toilet.
My wife has an ’03 CTS and I have an ’04 SRX and we really have enjoyed both of them. She will definitely be buying an ’08 CTS next year and I probably will be buying another SRX in ’09 or ’10. The service dept in my town is excellent, but the sales dept doesn’t seem to try hard enough, so we usually buy elsewhere.