Acura Dealers Ranked First in Industry Study for Providing Quick and Easy Service Appointments
2024年7月1日 - 1:01PM
ビジネスワイヤ(英語)
- Industrywide 1 in 7 Customers Failed in their Attempt to
Schedule Service
Acura was ranked first out of 34 automobile brands in Pied
Piper’s 2024 PSI® Service Telephone Effectiveness® (STE®) Study,
which measured the efficiency and quality of service telephone
calls from a customer’s objective of quickly and easily setting up
a service appointment. Following the Acura dealers in the rankings
were dealers who service Mazda, Lexus, Infiniti, and
Volkswagen.
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2024 PSI® Service Telephone
Effectiveness® (STE®) Auto Industry Study - Rankings by Brand
www.piedpiperpsi.com (Graphic: Business Wire)
“Well-run service departments focus on increasing customer
loyalty, and the first service experience to drive that loyalty is
a customer’s phone call to schedule an appointment,” said Fran
O’Hagan, Pied Piper CEO. “Vehicle customers who find scheduling
service difficult vote with their feet by moving to another
dealership or independent shop, or even getting rid of their
problem vehicle,” said O’Hagan.
The 2024 Pied Piper PSI®-STE® Automobile Study (U.S.A.) was
conducted between January 2024 and May 2024 by phoning the service
departments at 2,716 dealerships nationwide, representing all major
automobile brands. STE scores range from 0 to 100 and are
calculated from a mix of individually weighted measurements that
support the customer’s mission of quickly speaking with a service
representative who can schedule a service appointment within a
reasonable amount of time. Sixty-two percent of the total score is
determined by efficiency measurements, while 38 percent of the
total score is determined by quality measurements, where
dealerships provide a proactively helpful experience that goes
above and beyond the customer’s basic expectations.
One in seven (14%) of the study’s customers hung up their phone
having failed in their attempt to schedule service. These failures
occur for reasons such as getting no answer to the call, getting
voicemail, a hangup, endless hold, or getting lost in a phone tree.
In contrast, 55 percent of the study’s customers quickly
accomplished their objective, speaking with a service advisor
within one minute, and scheduling an appointment within one week.
Forty-two percent of the dealerships in the study went further, not
only meeting the customer’s basic expectations, but also providing
a proactively helpful experience, achieving STE scores over 70.
Acura, this year’s top scoring brand, achieved an average STE
score of 65, seven points higher than the industry average. Acura
customers also reached a service associate faster on average than
customers of most competing brands, with only three percent of
customers waiting on hold more than two minutes compared to twelve
percent for the overall industry. Sixty-two percent of Acura
customers on average spoke with a service advisor within one minute
and also scheduled service within one week. Customers calling Acura
dealerships failed to schedule an appointment only seven percent of
the time on average, compared to fourteen percent of the time for
the industry overall.
Many measurements had wide variation between brands. For
example, ten percent of dealers industrywide offered alternative
transportation, while Porsche dealers offered alternative
transportation most frequently at 45 percent of the time on
average, compared to Mitsubishi dealers at less than one percent of
the time on average. Customers were provided an estimate of how
long service would take 25 percent of the time, while Ford dealers
offered an estimate 38 percent of the time on average, but Polestar
dealers provided such an estimate less than one percent of the time
on average.
The following are additional examples of performance variation
by brand for measurements from the study:
- “Mission Failure” How often did a customer hang up their phone
having failed to schedule a service appointment?
- Less than 10% of the time on average: Acura, Volkswagen, Buick,
Cadillac, Mazda
- More than 25% of the time on average: Lincoln, Fiat, Polestar,
Alpha Romeo
- “Mission Acceptable” How often was a customer able to speak
with a service advisor within one minute and schedule a service
appointment within one week?
- More than 65% of the time on average: Mazda, Subaru, Lexus
- Less than 40% of the time on average: Genesis, Chrysler,
Fiat
- “Mission Excellent” How often did a customer experience a
frictionless and high-quality experience, with an STE score of 70+?
- More than 50% of the time on average: Mazda, Lexus, Infiniti,
Acura
- Less than 20% of the time on average: Chrysler, Ram, Fiat
- How often was a customer placed on hold for more than two
minutes?
- Less than 5% of the time on average: Polestar, Acura, Cadillac,
Mitsubishi, Lexus
- More than 20% of the time on average: Jaguar, Porsche,
Chrysler
- How many days out was the first available service appointment?
- Less than 3 days on average: Acura, BMW, Honda, Lexus, Mini,
Subaru, Toyota
- More than 7 days on average: Genesis, Ram, Chrysler, Fiat, Land
Rover
- How often was a customer asked if they were experiencing any
other issues?
- More than 50% of the time on average: Volvo, Acura,
Mercedes-Benz, Infiniti, Mini, Lexus
- Less than 30% of the time on average: Polestar, Alpha Romeo,
Mitsubishi
The first step toward improving the service telephone experience
is to understand what is really happening when customers call,
which is often a surprise. “The effort is worth it,” said O’Hagan.
“Satisfied service customers are more likely to be long-time loyal
customers not only for service work, but also when it's time to buy
another vehicle.”
About Pied Piper Management Company, LLC
Founded in 2003, Pied Piper Management Company, LLC is a
Monterey, California, company that helps improve the omnichannel
sales & service performance of retailers, by determining
fact-based best practices, then measuring and reporting
performance. Pied Piper PSI industry studies have been conducted
annually since 2007. Examples of other recent Pied Piper PSI
studies are the 2024 Pied Piper PSI® Internet Lead Effectiveness
(ILE®) Auto Industry Study (Nissan’s Infiniti brand ranked first),
the 2024 Pied Piper PSI® ILE® Powersports Industry Study (Polaris
Inc’s Indian Motorcycle brand was ranked first), and the 2023 Pied
Piper PSI® STE® Auto Dealer Group Study (Group 1 Automotive was
ranked first). Complete Pied Piper PSI industry study results are
provided to vehicle manufacturers and national dealer groups.
Manufacturers, national dealer groups and individual dealerships
also order PSI evaluations – in-person, internet or telephone – as
tools to measure and improve the omnichannel sales and service
effectiveness of their dealerships. For more information about the
Pied Piper Prospect Satisfaction Index, and the fact-based PSI
process, go to www.piedpiperpsi.com.
This press release is provided for editorial use only, and
information contained in this release may not be used for
advertising or otherwise promoting brands mentioned in this release
without specific, written permission from Pied Piper Management
Co., LLC.
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Pied Piper Ryan Scott (831) 648-1075 press@piedpiperpsi.com