Ford Phils tops study on customer satisfaction

SINGAPORE – Ford leads a very competitive industry in customer satisfaction with automotive dealer service, according to the J.D. Power Asia-Pacific 2001 Philippines Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) Study released recently.

The 2001 CSI study profiles a total of six makes: Ford, Honda, Toyota, Mitsubishi, Isuzu and Nissan. Honda and Toyota perform above the industry average and rank second and third, respectively, while Mitsubishi and Isuzu perform slightly under the average.

"When we look at the Philippine market, we see three indicators of a competitive environment characterized by high levels of service performance," said Yoichi Yamamoto, director of the automotive industry group at J.D. Power Asia-Pacific.

"First, we find a high industry average score of 827 out of a possible 1,000 points. Second, there is a gap of only 33 points separating the top- and bottom-ranked makes. Finally, our research shows that the percentage of customers servicing their vehicles in the aftermarket is low at 13 percent. These findings underscore an overall lack of differentiation among most makes in customer satisfaction performance."

Ford manages to set itself apart from the competition by its consistent implementation of service standards, goals set by the dealership and manufacturer that are designed to improve the overall service experience. These standards may include such activities as preparing a repair order before service, delivering customers vehicles at the promised time, and contacting customers after service. While individual dealership standards may vary in detail, J.D. Power Asia-Pacific measures dealer execution of 18 core standards. Ford achieves the highest rate of implementation on seven of these standards? more than any other manufacturer.

Ford achieves the top ranking with above-industry average scores across all seven factors that measure satisfaction in the Philippine automotive market. In order of importance, these are: problems experienced; service quality; user-friendly service; service delivery; service advisor; service initiation; and in-service experience. Ford outperforms the competition on all the factors except user-friendly service for which Honda performs equally well.

"In addition to thorough implementation of service standards, Ford also provides its customers with a high level of service quality," Yamamoto said. "This is especially important in the Philippine market where the problems experienced factor has the greatest impact on overall customer satisfaction. This factor evaluates such attributes as ease of maintenance and repair, and trouble-free operation two areas in which Ford demonstrates excellent performance."

The gap in CSI score separating Honda, Toyota, Mitsubishi and Isuzu is less than 10 points.

This same level of competitiveness is evident in the segment rankings for both passenger cars and light trucks, where there is just a one-point difference in the industry average. Ford also achieves the top ranking in the light-truck segment with a score of 838, again followed closely by Honda and Toyota.

"In the Philippine market, any make can achieve top performance in customer satisfaction," Yamamoto concluded. "The key challenge will be capitalize on the high level of dealer service loyalty that currently exists in the market and to identify opportunities to differentiate."

The 2001 Philippines CSI Study, for which 1,500 owners of new cars and light trucks were surveyed at 12 to 18 months of ownership, is designed to provide an objective measure of customer satisfaction with dealer service and initial quality.