July 31, 2016

Mazda Philippines Tops JD Power Customer Service Index


Mazda tops the Philippine automotive industry in terms of Customer Service Index (CSI) according to the latest JD Power Survey. The study, now on its 16th year, measures new-vehicle owner satisfaction with after-sales service process at authorized service centers by examining dealership performances in five factors (in order of importance): service quality (29 percent), service initiation (26 percent), vehicle pick-up (17 percent), service facility (14 percent), and service advisor (14 percent). Brand service performance is then measured on a 1,000-point scale with the highest score indicating highest customer satisfaction.

The survey covered 1,838 new vehicle owners who purchased their vehicle between February 2014 and May 2015 and took their vehicle for service to an authorized dealer or service center between August 2015 and May 2016. The survey ranked 11 mainstream brands in the country.

Mazda ranked top with 845 points, 14 points clear of second placer Honda. It’s followed by Nissan at 827, while Ford and Toyota tied at 825. The other brands that managed above average performance were Isuzu and Hyundai (824 and 823 respectively).

Although this year’s survey is a big win for Mazda, it’s also worth noting that the same study indicates an overall lower service satisfaction average across all brands (822 points) compared to 837 points in 2015. Declines were recorded across all customer service factors. In particular, satisfaction with service facility suffers the greatest drop of 24 points year-on-year, indicating that the large influx of customers into the service centers is straining capacity.

“Despite more service reminders being sent to customers for routine maintenance, customers are not reciprocating by making appointments for their service visit,” said Loïc Pean, Senior Manager at JD Power. “We still see six in 10 walk-in customers and this exacerbates the capacity crunch at the dealerships. Dealerships have to be resolute to educate their customers to get into the habit of making appointments else it will be a formidable task for dealers to manage unscheduled workload and maximize throughput.”

Adding to the complexity of the business environment are the dramatic shifts in customer demographics. Nearly three-fourths (72 percent) of customers are first-time new-vehicle owners, up from 49 percent in 2015. The percentage of younger car owners (under 40 years) has also increased to 62 percent in 2016, compared with 52 percent in 2015. In addition, women constitute a larger proportion of new-vehicle owners this year at 43 percent, up from 31 percent last year.

“As these changes happen in a fairly short span of time, dealers need to continually stay a step ahead to anticipate the changes so as to effectively address the multi-faceted needs of the younger generation. Those who are successful in meeting customers’ expectations will reap the rewards of higher advocacy and loyalty,” said Sigfred Doloroso, Country Manager at JD Power.

Among customers who are highly satisfied with their dealer service (overall satisfaction scores of 870 and above), 59 percent say they “definitely would” return to their dealer for post-warranty service and 62 percent “definitely would” recommend their dealer to friends and family. In contrast, among customers who are less satisfied (scores of 774 and lower), only 44 percent say they “definitely would” return to the dealer for post-warranty service, and only 48 percent say they “definitely would” recommend the dealer to others.

There are also additional key kinds made during the survey:
  • Customers Are Waiting Longer at Every Service Juncture: The vehicle handover process time has increased by 5 minutes from 2015. Nearly half (49 percent) of customers say it took 4 hours or more to get their car serviced, up from 39 percent in 2015. Even the time taken to finish the paperwork and pick up the vehicle after service has increased, as 63 percent of customers say this process took more than 10 minutes, up from 49 percent in 2015.
  • Service Initiation Is Critical to Overall Satisfaction: Service initiation gains in importance in the study and accounts for 26 percent of overall satisfaction, yet it is the lowest-scoring factor in the study.  Trying to arrange a service visit with ease is the main pain point for customers. 
  • Fewer Customers Are Contacted To Check If They Are Satisfied: Only one third (34 percent) of customers are contacted after service to check if the work was performed up to their satisfaction. The incidence rate of this follow-up work has come down significantly from last year (45 percent).

15 comments:

  1. Where are the people saying that Mazda has poor customer service now?

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  2. Mazda must make a good promo also for those who are out of warranty service.. Mazda pms is one of the costliest to maintain after yojin3. Ang mahal sobra ng parts & labor. Try Mazda Alabang service & you'll get what I mean.

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    1. D ba parang me 'loyalty' 'warranty extension' kuno, ang mazda? Sa mazda nga b yun o iba ata,

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    2. D ba parang me 'loyalty' 'warranty extension' kuno, ang mazda? Sa mazda nga b yun o iba ata,

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  3. Yeah ang mahal ng casa sa mazda 15k for batteries for my 6. Hindi pa compatible motolite

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  4. They should also survey people who are already out of warranty.

    Let's see if Mazda will still make it to the top...

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  5. why doesn't it translate to more sales? mazda is what, 6th in sales stats 1Q 2016? is this a paid advert?

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    1. Mazda just overtook Subaru and Mazda is not for everyone. Because the masses want a comfortable, boring and reliable ride that is why Toyota dominates the market. Few people want a car with personality and that is fun to look and drive. If Mazda pays this site for advertisement, don't you think Toyota and the other big car brands which has more resources than Mazda would beat them to it? I think I read it before that Mazda plans to get new customers from the young people because the old ones are the laggards which resist change. It is easier to get customers from the youth than the old people. And that translates that 72% of Mazda's customers are first time car buyers. Their strategy is working.

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    2. Mazda is a car-centric company while people have been moving away from cars and into SUVs. Their cars have much smaller space than their rivals. Their only diesel is CX5 with the space of a subcompact car. In the US, I think their top seller is the MX5 which is sad since its a niche product

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    3. Not a paid advert. This came from the folks at JD Power.

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  6. More power to Mazda!

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  7. Mazda is a premium brand most of the clients are executives, presidents etc. And their happy and very satisfied with the product as well as the service. Mahal tlga pagka casa maintained compare to auto shops. Casa maintenance also adds value to the car. Tsaka kaya yung iba sinasabe na matagal ang maintenance service kasi hindi sila nakaschedule if you want your service to be done quickly make an appointment kasi may mga customers na nakaallot for that time. And lastly mazda is made from japan not sta.rosa.

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  8. Haha my BT50 is already out of warranty. Ive checked their pricelist for oil change, at least 8k(from my dealership in alabang). Anyway considering how much I've already saved for the first 3 years. Thankful for the yojin 3, I've missed 1 appointment but they still gave me consideration(or maybe since we purchased 2 mazda units from them, M2 and my BT50)

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  9. mazda trying hard to sell their brand in philippines! late in the game now! the chinese are breathing down their necks!

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    Replies
    1. Filipinos don't like Chinese products, they would always choose Japanese.

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