TTAC pricing provider TrueDelta recently surveyed its consumer panel (join via our home page) on car dealers' customer satisfaction surveys. For anyone who's ever been "pre-prepared" for a post-sale or service survey by "helpful" dealer staff, the results confirm that the fix is in. Automotive News [AN sub] summarizes Mr. Karesh's findings: "Nearly half of the respondents in the TrueDelta poll said the dealership tried to influence their survey responses. More than one in four said they were overtly pressured by dealership employees to provide perfect scores. About one in eight admitted inflating their scores in response to such pressure." AN named three names as the worst offenders: BMW, Hyundai and Nissan. And get this: two percent of respondents said dealer staff asked to watch them complete the forms, asked to complete the forms for the customer and/or offered them a bribe for perfect score. How great is that? [NB: While this website has dealt with this subject before, it's great to see the truth hit the mainstream media.]
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Congratulations to True Delta for rasing the level of awareness on this issue.
Its old news, everyone in the automotive business is well aware of how the game is played, and the myriad of schemes that are used to generate perfect scores on the surveys.
High CSI scores are an intrinsic part of the game, with all sorts of incentives for the dealer tied to the scores. How the scores are achieved is simply a game within the game.
The best part is that most customers let themselves be influenced for a “gift”, especially the sales CSI its a no brainer to get a high score. The well informed customers go for a shopping spree at the boutique showcases in the showroom, once the shopping spree is completed they hand over the survey to the dealer.
It’s old news as far as the practices go, but there haven’t been any actual data. How common are the worst abuses? I decided to conduct a survey to find out.
I actually found that the worst abuses, which I’ve personally experienced, are not common. The ones RF lists were each reported by only about two percent of respondents, as he notes.
On the other hand, milder forms of persuasion, such as asking or even begging for perfect scores, are very common. And many car buyers dislike being asked to lie.
No real surprise here. How else could you explain some dealer’s “5-star” plaques when the greasy salesman is treating you like a chump?
When I bought my Honda in ’02, the dealer mentioned the CSI, I told them straight up that they would get marks as they were very good to deal with.
Actually bribing customers? That’s a sad commentary when treating the customers well in the first place would probably be cheaper in the long run.
100% correct! I bought 2 new cars (both Mazdas but from different dealers) in the last 6 years and both times I was asked to give them a perfect score.
The first time the car’s tire pressure was not checked at PDI and delivered to me with 42PSI – no perfect score there. The 2nd time, the begging for a perfect score was ridiculous, but for some reason Mazda Canada never sent out the survey. Wish they did. That being said, the cars are still great after 146000 and 58000kms respectively.
I guess we can file this under the uselessness of JDPowers/Intellichoice and the like…
I bought a Protege5 years back and was hassled by the sales staff and sales manager to give them the highest ratings. I wound up not sending one in at all and then got calls from Mazda asking why and I said I was sick of the pressure. The salesperson said he’d would not do well and would be reviewed if he got a low score. I was upset b/c the manager was a prick on the trade and the only dealer within 75 miles of us. It seemed obvious with the other cars I’ve bought new that the dealers that are not doing well are the ones giving the most pressure.
My Acura dealer attempted to stick me with approximately $100 of unsought services wholly superfluous to Acura’s published maintenance requirements. The first three were chemical services notwithstanding no symptoms called for additives, the owner’s manual discourages them, and they were neither discussed nor authorized.
1. Motor oil additive, $15;
2. Gasoline additive, $15;
3. Door and window gasket silicone spray, $15;
4. Brake rotor polishing disk, $15. (The maintenance service calls for a brake inspection);
5. Seat belt retractor lubricant, $15. (Warranty: Technical Service Bulletin);
6. Environmental, miscellaneous fluids and materials charges.
I allow service agencies some billing latitude to avoid ugliness, but this was too grossly self-serving to let pass.
Saying, “I thought you would appreciate the extra care and attention we gave your car,” an offended service adviser reduced the invoice $50, significantly less than the overcharge.
The Acura service satisfaction reporting card was withheld.
Thanks to Michael for the effort he’s put into True Delta; unfortunately, the data gathering is still a flawed sampling of those people who actually care enough about the products they use to provide feedback. Still, some crosscut sampling among consumers is better than none.
Additionally, it is apparent that at least the J.D. Power (TM and other hosannas) surveys are only indicative of the expectations of that particular group of buyers. Porsche buyers are likely to have far higher expectations than those who buy Buicks, so it seems that a high score for a Porsche is probably more credible than one for a Buick (like how is it that Buicks rate higher than identical Chevrolets or Pontiacs?). In the end the flawed survey methods, whether J.D. Power, or Consumer’s Union, actually have served to raise both the quality of the vehicle and the quality of the dealer experience to a higher level. Actually changing the dealer culture will take decades.
dinu01:
I’ve been told that some dealers will give the manufacturer incorrect contact info if they think you’re going to submit a negative survey. A couple people report this in the survey I conducted.
My full report is here:
http://www.truedelta.com/pieces/survey_survey.php
The appendix of comments at the bottom makes for some interesting reading.
edgett,
I avoid asking questions that would require a random sample of the population.
In this case, would someone’s enthusiasm for their car affect the tactics a dealer would use to obtain top marks on the sales satisfaction survey? There’s no obvious connection between the two things.
Now, if I was asking people how much they like their cars, it would be a different story.
The main bias I would expect to be present is that people upset with the dealer might be more likely to respond. And yet the most aggressive tactics were rarely reported.
Michael – I wasn’t questioning your results; two out of four cars I’ve bought in the last several years included pressure to provide high marks on the dealership experience (surprise – the two who didn’t were dealers who were absolutely straight-up throughout the sales process). But I still believe the long term J.D. Power survey desperately requires some demographic adjustment to be credible; one would think that it would more closely mimic results from CU and it frequently does not. Nonetheless, I promise to be a reliable True Delta datapoint on my latest car.
Reading the questions of the TD survey again, I can’t help but think TD’s survey should be added to the bottom of the manufacturers’ surveys.
The majority of dealers are well versed at maintaining a high “sales CSI” the ownership CSI which is measeured 12 months later is a totallly different species. More challenging to influence, often the product experience taints the dealer experience.
Customer A gets a vehicle from dealer 1 gives dealer 1 a perfect sales score(he went to dealer 1 for the lower price), but now customer A goes to dealer 2 for warranty work(closer to his house or business), and experienced some issues with the vehicle.
Customer A receives the ownership survey, gave dealer 1 a perfect sales score but now takes out his frustration with the product on dealer 2 for the ownership experience. Its a regular occurence, often the shortcomings of dealer 1 are taken out on dealer 2.
Its one of the reasons that the majority of dealers influence the sales CSI its easier to do, especially dealers holding a franchise from a manufacturer that places a high priority on CSI.
The entire CSI is usually sales and ownership.
I use to get the pleading after every service visit. I finally complained on both True Delta as well as to Scions regular emial Survey which I had agreed to participate in. After that all the begging to please answer the surves with top marks ended.
It does seem like the answer is for the survey to specifically ask if a good score was asked for and to automatically deduct points if it was.
AGR,
I am confused with your example.
How is Buyer A taking out frustrations with Dealer 1 on Dealer 2? Dealer 2 seems to be suffering from either his own mistakes or those of the manufacturer.
What has Dealer 1 got to do with it at all?
Which brings up a whole other point about these surveys. People often have a hard time coming up with the right target for their frustrations. Perhaps we should replace sensitivity training in schools and businesses with “proximate cause” training.
I collected demographic information for the first time with this survey on dealer surveys. Age only begins to be a factor around 70. Which shouldn’t affect most brands. Buick might be an exception.
I wouldn’t assume CR’s results are more accurate than JD’s. CR gives respondents too much latitude when deciding whether or not a problem should be reported.
My sister bought one of the first generation Infiniti G20’s back when they first came out. Loved the car, but went to a Volvo for the next car just because of being thoroughly sick of the constant pressure to give top marks on the post-service dealer surveys.
Unfortunately, results of such surveys were factored in when it came to allotting stock to a dealer – thus the pressure. The dealer even had a final reminder about giving them a high rating posted on the Stop sign as you left the property and turned onto the street!
I had a bad service experience with my Lexus RX a number of years ago. The service manager knew I was upset and would give them a negative review. He told me if I brought the survey form blank into the dealership and let him fill it out he would do a free $200 detail on the car
Here is a novel idea: treat the customer well and with respect, and you will get good ratings.
How frickin’ hard is that?
landcrusher,
Perhaps I did not express myself clearly.
Customer A buys from Dealer 1 and gives this dealer a perfect sales score, but he goes to Dealer 2 for service and warranty work, and takes his frustrations out on Dealer 2 with a low ownership score.
What does Dealer 1 have to do with it, in most instances its the out of the area dealer that sells at a lower price, gets the high sales score, and leaves the ownership experience which in most cases generates a lower score to Dealer 2.
RE:dean: Here is a novel idea: treat the customer well and with respect, and you will get good ratings……
As a Service Advisor at one of the largest Chevy dealerships in the Southwest, I can tell you that even when you do treat people respect, you still get people who come in with a chip on thier shoulder and seem to get a thrill by grinding on the lowly Service Advisor. I have found that many people who have bitten off more than they can chew in regards to thier car payments are looking for ways to get out of the loan. ie lemon laws. Mind you, I also know of some Advisors that don’t treat thier customer with the respect that they deserve also. It truly goes both ways. Hint: An Advisor has a certain amount of pull and when customers come in looking for assistance, a good Advisor is someone you want on your side.
Here is a novel idea don’t waste your time with surveys and just give the manufacturer a call.
I got the “please give us a perfect” when we bought our Subaru last year but they deserved it. The best car buying experience I have ever had, and I would like to go back and buy another car from Justin except I moved 3 states away :(
Now I am stuck with a totally incompetent and corrupt dealership down the block from me and the next nearest one is 65 miles away and just as bad. I have already called Subaru twice about the crap I have had to go through and told them flat out this will be my last Subaru if this ownership experience doesn’t improve, dispite the fact I love the company. We shall see if things improve or if my next car will be an Accord or even better ’82 Alfa GTV6.
When I bought my Mazda 3 I had a terrible experience with the dealership. The salesman was ok but the sales manager was a real old-school scumbag who ended up costing me $$ out of pocket while waiting for them to deliver the car they promised they would have on site weeks earlier because there were “several in town”.
Anyhoo, I get the car and they have
a- forgotten to add some items I purchased
b- missed a large scratch on the door and streaking on the hood during their $1400 PDI/delivery inspection
I then had to listen to the delivery specialist read through the manualand make several mistakes in what he was saying.
I was then given the satisfaction survey to fill out and pushed to give all high ratings. I was asked to fill it out right in front of the manager.
I was totally honest on the survey and handed it right to hin with several low scores where deserved.
I then received a letter fro mthe dealership thaning me for the survey..the envelope also contained a breoken pen…
Never set foot there since…
My last salesman also requested that I give him perfect marks. He didn’t give me any special deal and annoyed me by trying hard to sell me fabric protection, undercoating, paint protection, etc. He was just an average salesman, and I rated him as such.