As customer satisfaction with the dealer service experience improves, and auto brands perform within close range of each other, the way for brands to differentiate themselves in an ultracompetitive environment may lie in how they engage customers at their waiting lounges, according to the J.D. Power 2016 Indonesia Customer Service Index (CSI) StudySM mass market segment, released today.
Overall customer service satisfaction averages 765 on a 1,000-point scale in 2016, up 4 points from 2015. Competition stiffens as the four highest-ranked brands are separated by a mere 4 points.
Dealerships are also displaying high operational efficiencies, as 96% of customers are able to get an appointment on their desired day; 93% have their cars serviced within the same day; and 99% indicate that the work was done right the first time.
Additionally, the study finds that Indonesia has one of the highest percentages of customers in the ASEAN region who stay at the dealership the entire servicing time, with 80% of all customers spending an average of two hours waiting at the facility while their cars are being serviced.
“Dealerships can use that time as an opportunity to engage their customers while they wait for their vehicle,” said Kaustav Roy, director at J.D. Power. “This is a chance to not only build relationships with their customers, but also to create new business opportunities. However, customers need to be approached in a thoughtful manner in order to respect their need for space and privacy.”
The study shows that when customers enjoy basic amenities such as sufficient seating space, air-conditioned lounges and TV, satisfaction inches up by only 2 points, but the impact of not providing these amenities can result in a 16-point plunge in satisfaction scores. Consequently, dealerships have been quick to add amenities in order to provide a comfortable stay. The highest rollout of amenities across dealers in 2016 are Internet access (+14%); valet parking (+12%); and free food (+9%).
“For years, dealerships have been gradually adding amenities to improve satisfaction, but services that were previously niceties are now regarded as necessities,” said Srabani Bandyopadhyay, manager at J.D. Power. “Piling on more amenities may just create more strain on dealerships as they struggle to keep up with the raised bar.”
Following are additional key findings of the study:
- Service Advisors More Thorough in Their Explanations: Ninety-five percent of customers indicate that their service advisor was thorough in explaining the work that was to be performed on their vehicle, up from 82% last year. The percentage of customers who say their service advisor provided a thorough explanation on cost has increased to 79% in 2016 from 70% in 2015. Customers are increasingly expecting this as a basic requirement from their service advisor, as not fulfilling these two activities can lower satisfaction scores by 28 points and 6 points, respectively.
- Rise in the Cost of Servicing: The median price customers paid for their last service in Indonesia is IDR 650000, an 8% increase from 2015.
- Cost of Overall Ownership Increases: The cost of ownership has increased 25% to IDR 1114 per km in 2016 from IDR 894 per km in 2015.
- Satisfied Customers Are More Loyal: Among customers who are highly satisfied with their dealer service (overall service satisfaction scores of 797 or higher), 65% say they “definitely would” revisit the same dealership for post-warranty service, compared with only 47% of those who are highly dissatisfied (scores of 737 or lower).
Now in its 16th year, the study measures overall service satisfaction among owners who took their vehicle to an authorized service center by examining dealership performance in five factors (in order of importance): service quality (30%); service initiation (27%); service facility (15%); vehicle pick-up (15%); and service advisor (12%).
Study Rankings
Toyota ranks highest in overall service satisfaction among mass market brands, with a score of 769. Toyota performs particularly well in the service advisor, service facility and service quality factors. Nissan ranks second (767), followed closely by Mitsubishi (766) and Daihatsu (765).
The 2016 Indonesia CSI Study is based on responses from 3,041 vehicle owners who received delivery of their new vehicle between February 2014 and June 2015 and took their vehicle for service to an authorized dealer or service center between August 2015 and June 2016. The study was fielded from February through June 2016.
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