WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. -

According to the J.D. Power and Associates 2013 U.S. Customer Service Index (CSI) Study released earlier this week, overall customer satisfaction with service at a dealer facility has increased to 797 (on a 1,000 point scale), up significantly from 787 in 2012.

And the study found that buyer loyalty is directly connected to a dealership’s service center.

The 2013 U.S. CSI Study  — based on responses from more than 91,000 owners and lessees of 2008 to 2012 model-year vehicles  — found that overall, 79 percent of vehicle owners indicate they "definitely will" return to their dealership for maintenance and repairs covered under their vehicle’s warranty, and 64 percent indicate they "definitely will" return to the dealership for service work after their vehicle’s warranty expires.  

That said, when dealers manage to "delight" their service customers, "loyalty increases dramatically," according to the report.

Among vehicle owners who  were "delighted" (satisfaction scores of 901 of higher) with their service experience, 96 percent indicate they "definitely will" return to the dealer service department while their vehicle is under warranty, and 89 percent indicate they "definitely will" return post-warranty.

Moreover, 38 percent of these "delighted" customers indicate that they "definitely will" purchase or lease their next vehicle from the same brand, and increases to 59 percent among owners who are “delighted.”

Commenting on the results, Chris Sutton, senior director at J.D. Power and Associates, said, "The service experience has a profound impact on vehicle owners, not just where they take their vehicle the next time they need maintenance or repairs, but also on their next vehicle purchase.

"Dealers know this, and most are taking the appropriate steps to ensure their customers have the best experience possible on both the sales and service sides of the store," he added.

Overall Satisfaction with Service Grows

The study also found that overall dealer service improved, as well. In fact,  overall satisfaction with dealer service improved by 10 points in 2013, compared with 2012.
 
The areas that saw the largest year-over-year gains were service facility and vehicle pick-up, which also includes vehicle owner perception of the fairness of the charges.

"While there are a lot of things dealers can’t control, such as the product and the incentive levels on the sales side, one thing they can control is the service they provide," said Sutton. "When new-vehicle sales dropped in 2008, dealers increased their focus on service, and that attention on the service customer continues today."

Auto Remarketing reported earlier this week on how the OEMs ranked in this very same study. See the results here.

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