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Lexus Earns Another J.D. Power Distinction, This One Is For Customer Service

J.D. Power issued the results of its Customer Service Index for 2017, which reviews the results of 2016 regarding the way automakers treat clients when they arrive in their service facilities.
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Photo: Lexus
J.D. Power 2017 U.S. Customer Service Index - Luxury brandsJ.D. Power 2017 U.S. Customer Service Index - Mass market brands
According to the survey specialists, the service quality scores have received an improvement overall in 2016 over the previous year, reaching 809 in 2016 from 782 in 2015.

If that was not enough, the analysts have also observed that the other four measures that are used to name a winner in this study have also been improved over the levels of 2015.

The American survey company takes the following into consideration: service advisor, service initiation, service facility, and vehicle pick-up, on top of the service quality and customer service.

The grades and ratings presented by J.D. Power were obtained after surveying owners and lessees of 1 to 5-year-old vehicles, who have used franchised dealers or independent service facilities for maintenance or repair work. However, the final grades were awarded for the first three years of the life of the vehicle, when it was still under warranty.

An interesting detail observed by JDP was that 55% of the customers who were contacted by phone said that they would “definitely return” for paid service.

The loyalty factor jumped to 67% when customers were contacted through text message updates. According to J.D. Power, this preference for text communication has increased from 2015, and dealerships should take this into consideration, and even make it a priority.

Lexus has managed to get the best score among luxury brands, where it bested Audi, Lincoln, Porsche, and Cadillac. The Japanese brand owned by the Toyota Motor Corporation had a score of 874 out of 1,000 points. Audi was rated with 869, Lincoln had 868 points, and Porsche got 867.

Meanwhile, in the volume segment, Buick was the star performer. GM’s brand managed a score of 860. It was followed by MINI, with 850 points, GMC with 837, Chevrolet with 829, and Nissan with 822.

Kia, Subaru, and Toyota ranked over Volkswagen and Hyundai, which were still over the mass market brand average. Brands like Honda, Ford, Mitsubishi, Chrysler, and Mazda were below that "bar."

The core brands of the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles group had the worst results from the listed brands, with Dodge, Ram, Jeep, and Fiat graded between 771 and 739 out of 1,000 possible points.
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About the author: Sebastian Toma
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Sebastian's love for cars began at a young age. Little did he know that a career would emerge from this passion (and that it would not, sadly, involve being a professional racecar driver). In over fourteen years, he got behind the wheel of several hundred vehicles and in the offices of the most important car publications in his homeland.
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