GM dealers tamper with customer satisfaction surveys
#1
Super Moderator
Thread Starter
GM dealers tamper with customer satisfaction surveys
GM dealers tamper with customer satisfaction surveys
Posted on: September 10th, 2007
GM is tossing the results of recent customer satisfaction surveys after dealers admitted to lie about their responses. The outcome could cost some dealerships their quarterly bonuses.
Customers who get surveyed include new buyers or those who submit factory warranty claims. By meeting sales records and scoring high on dealership surveys, dealers get quarterly cash incentives that can hit six figures.
GM says it is making “appropriate adjustments” to third-quarter survey scores “to reflect interference.” Spokeswoman, Susan Garontakos, told Automotive News that the interference “was not widespread.” However she would not say how many dealerships were involved.
Dealers are saying that tampering with the surveys occurs due to the high-pressure of losing quarterly bonuses where a dealer can lose the bonus if it falls a fraction of a percentage point below its prescribed score.
Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)
Posted on: September 10th, 2007
GM is tossing the results of recent customer satisfaction surveys after dealers admitted to lie about their responses. The outcome could cost some dealerships their quarterly bonuses.
Customers who get surveyed include new buyers or those who submit factory warranty claims. By meeting sales records and scoring high on dealership surveys, dealers get quarterly cash incentives that can hit six figures.
GM says it is making “appropriate adjustments” to third-quarter survey scores “to reflect interference.” Spokeswoman, Susan Garontakos, told Automotive News that the interference “was not widespread.” However she would not say how many dealerships were involved.
Dealers are saying that tampering with the surveys occurs due to the high-pressure of losing quarterly bonuses where a dealer can lose the bonus if it falls a fraction of a percentage point below its prescribed score.
Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)
#6
they probably are giving out gifts since ppl dont like filling out the surveys..
#7
Lexus Champion
By bringing the survey in for a free gift, don't you run the risk of a dealer tossing it out or just not filing an unfavorable one?
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#8
i dont get it, hows that different from bringing it in without the gift? they probably put it into the boxes that cant be opened by dealer...
#9
#10
Lexus Fanatic
No. That doesn't always work. Problem is.....you can have a great product that DOES speak for itself, and still have crappy dealerships to go along with it. Honda, for example, has been known for this for years.....great vehicles and rather arrogant dealerships selling them. Mercedes-Benz, which once made some of the best cars on the planet (as opposed to the unreliable ones they build today) also had snooty dealerships that were the height of arrogance.....some M-B dealerships today still are; some aren't.
#11
Rookie
iTrader: (15)
I guess its a hit an miss then. Most of the local honda dealers around here are great as far as customer satisfaction goes. On the other hand, there are mixed reviews about most lexus dealers. The one that gets high remarks around here is Longo Lexus. Of course there are always exceptions.
Mercedes, while they do make nice cars, is plague with reliability issues. That alone pisses off the customers since they are paying a heavy chunk of their income for a car, only to be defective. Clutter up the dealership with a bunch of cars that can't be fixed soon enough, the customers will get angry.
Awhile ago, I was at Westminster Lexus getting some parts and at peak hour (around 1:00PM or so), the service bay was quite empty. The mechanics there didn't have to rush on a job, enabling them to perform their task and have time to thoroughly check their work.. I've seen some Mercedes and BMW mechanics rush and the outcome wasn't good.
It's just a trend I've noticed. Brands that do better in reliability/quality gets higher customer satisfaction. After all, this survey deals with new buyers and/or factory warranty claims.
Mercedes, while they do make nice cars, is plague with reliability issues. That alone pisses off the customers since they are paying a heavy chunk of their income for a car, only to be defective. Clutter up the dealership with a bunch of cars that can't be fixed soon enough, the customers will get angry.
Awhile ago, I was at Westminster Lexus getting some parts and at peak hour (around 1:00PM or so), the service bay was quite empty. The mechanics there didn't have to rush on a job, enabling them to perform their task and have time to thoroughly check their work.. I've seen some Mercedes and BMW mechanics rush and the outcome wasn't good.
It's just a trend I've noticed. Brands that do better in reliability/quality gets higher customer satisfaction. After all, this survey deals with new buyers and/or factory warranty claims.
#12
Lexus Champion
Most of the surveys I've completed have been mailed in a pre-addressed envelope, usually to third party. Maybe some manufacturers and/or dealers do it differently.
#13
Lexus Fanatic
Yes, today more so than in the past....but for years (trust me ) Honda shops were notorious for a take-our-price-or-leave-it attitude, especially back when we had import quotas ahd they were hard to get.
#14
ehm, it is not up to dealers or manufacturers, it depends on the survey... dealers are not the ones making the rules.
#15
Lexus Fanatic
Individual dealerships, in some cases, though CAN send out surveys where they DO make the rules. Dealership owners and General Managers often use these survey results to determine the effectiveness of the jobs that department managers and employees are doing at the dealership.....and whether to retain them or let them go. And, believe me.....people are often fired or laid off at dealerships; it is very common.
Last edited by mmarshall; 09-10-07 at 04:16 PM.