J.D. Power: Saturn Service Managers Most Satisfied With Manufacturers' Service Ability
4 November 1997
J.D. Power and Associates Reports: Saturn Service Managers Are Most Satisfied With Their Manufacturers' Service AbilityAGOURA HILLS, Calif., Nov. 4 -- Saturn took top honors in the benchmark J.D. Power and Associates 1997 Service Managers' Satisfaction Index(SM), released today, with a score of 128, closely followed by Lexus and Acura. Saturn's strengths lie in their warranty policy, information given to service managers by the manufacturer and their easy-to-use repair manuals. The industry average for this first year of the study was set at 100. "It is clear from the J.D. Power and Associates 1997 Service Managers' Satisfaction Index(SM) that two factors, among the seven looked at in the study, are critical to service managers' satisfaction with the brands they represent: Warranty Policy and Technical Support," commented Rose-Anne Moore, group director for J.D. Power and Associates, who supervised the study. "These two factors each represent approximately one-quarter of the index total. It's easy to see that "people factors" are very important, because the single most important attribute for Warranty Policy is helpfulness of manufacturer warranty support personnel, and the Technical Support score is driven by rankings for factory service reps," said Ms. Moore. Warranty Policy is comprised of rankings of manufacturer warranty programs on attributes such as, ease of warranty, claim submission and accuracy of compensation. Technical Support includes rankings of manufacturer technical representatives on everything from consulting on merchandising, marketing and promotion, to rankings of tech support (how easy to reach, how helpful the support people are and accuracy of information). The other five factors that compose the index, in descending order of importance are: * Manufacturer Information; 18% -- Comprises rankings of general service bulletins, dealership communications systems, recall bulletins, and technical and business training. * Tools; 10 % Comprises rankings of diagnostic and special tools. * Diagnostic Systems; 8% -- Comprises the ease of use, accuracy of information, timely updates of information. * Repair Manual; 8% -- Comprises ease of use, freedom from errors, timely updates, etc. * Parts Quality; 6% -- Comprises scheduled maintenance parts, light repair parts and heavy repair parts, collision parts, etc. The study also looks at how service managers feel about overall vehicle reliability and service ability. Approximately one-fifth of service managers rate their vehicles as excellent for both. "The only real area of concern is problem diagnosis," said Ms. Moore. "Only 3 percent of service managers said that their vehicles' problems were extremely easy to diagnose. This not only adds to the aggravation consumers experience in the repair of their vehicle, it can also lead to ultimate dissatisfaction which may impact future vehicle choices," concluded Ms. Moore. The J. D. Power and Associates 1997 Service Managers' Index(SM) received responses from nearly 2,800 service managers nationwide, representing more than 30 makes. They responded to a comprehensive eight-page questionnaire, which was designed to elicit their reactions to the policies and procedures instituted by manufacturers. J.D. Power and Associates is an international firm best known for its marketing information services in key business sectors including market research, forecasting, and customer satisfaction. The firm's quality and satisfaction measurements are based on actual customer responses from over a million consumers annually. With its headquarters in Agoura Hills, California, the firm also has U.S. offices in Torrance, California; Michigan; and Connecticut. Its international locations include Japan, Korea, England, Canada and Brazil. J.D. Power and Associates can be accessed through the World Wide Web at http://www.jdpower.com. Email: info@jdpower.com. No advertising or other promotional use can be made of the information in this release or J.D. Power and Associates survey results without the express prior written consent of J.D. Power and Associates. J.D. Power and Associates 1997 Service Managers' Satisfaction Index(SM) Saturn 128 Lexus 127 Acura 124 Honda 117 Mercedes-Benz 113 Toyota 112 Oldsmobile 106 Hyundai 105 BMW 105 Buick 102 Mazda 102 Dodge 102 Mitsubishi 102 GMC 101 Volkswagen 101 Pontiac 101 Industry 100 Finishing below industry average in alphabetical order are: Audi, Cadillac, Chevrolet/Geo, Chrysler/Plymouth, Ford, Isuzu, Jeep/Eagle, Kia, Lincoln/Mercury, Nissan, Subaru, and Volvo. Note: Infiniti, Jaguar, Land Rover, Porsche, Saab, and Suzuki have not been ranked due to insufficient sample size. Source: (C) J.D. Power and Associates 1997 Service Managers' Satisfaction Index(SM) J.D. Power and Associates 1997 Service Managers' Satisfaction Index(SM) Index Factors Warranty Policy 26% Technical Support 24% Manufacturer Information 18% Tools 10% Diagnostic Systems 8% Repair Manual 8% Parts Quality 6% Source: (C) J.D. Power and Associates 1997 Service Managers' Satisfaction Index(SM) SOURCE J.D. Power and Associates