Ford, Holden fail satisfaction survey

[vztrt]

http://theage.drive.com.au/motor-new...803-114hk.html

Ford, Holden fail satisfaction survey
STEVE COLQUHOUN
August 3, 2010 - 3:43PM

Local car makers score negative results in new owner satisfaction survey that reveals Subaru has the most loyal following.

Subaru owners are the most loyal of the country’s top car brands, according to a new survey.

Brisbane-based consulting firm Engaged Marketing surveyed 1720 car owners to rate their ownership experiences.

Subaru was the clear winner with a customer experience score of 35 per cent, indicating owners were almost twice as likely to recommend it to friends and colleagues than second-placed Honda (19 per cent) or Toyota (13 per cent).

Holden and Ford were among three of the nine top-selling car companies in Australia included in the survey to score a minus ranking (Holden -3 per cent, Ford -13 per cent), indicating that owners made more negative than positive comments about their experiences with the brands. Only Mitsubishi fared worse – at 18 per cent.

Engaged Marketing chief executive Chris Roberts said the scores showed that some companies had huge potential to grow simply by focusing on improving their customers’ experiences.

“There has never been a more critical time to go back to basics and focus on the customer. The continued strong utilisation of social media injects an additional element of urgency because everyone knows word of mouth is the most effective marketing channel available to customers,” he said.

The report said recommendations from family or friends remained the greatest influence on car purchasing decisions, with 45 per cent of consumers saying word of mouth from a trusted source was more persuasive than other factors such as price or marketing.

It also said that for every negative comment heard by a consumer about a car or a brand, it took another five positive referrals to reverse that perception.

Car customers’ brand rankings*:
1. Subaru 35%
2. Honda 19%
3. Toyota 13%
4. Mazda 12%
5. Hyundai 3%
6. Nissan 1%
7. Holden -3%
8. Ford -13%
9. Mitsubishi -18%

*Source: 2010 Engaged Marketing Benchmarking Survey

[Dr Smith]

http://www.engagedmarketing.com.au/b...2010-cars.html

http://www.engagedmarketing.com.au/p...d-Overview.pdf

The full report can be bought for $595.

I guess the Ford respondants don't drive G6ET's because it would have been Ford +65%.

Fieldwork for this benchmarking study was collected from 1720 respondents via an online opt-in survey during the months of March and April 2010. Respondents were from all over Australia. In addition to Car Brands respondents were also asked questions about their Home Insurance, Motor Insurance and Banks resulting in 6661 responses across the four categories.

[Windsor220]

Hard to say this is a reflection on the car itself or the service/sales experience. I'll tell you now there is no way that Mitsushi would be worse reliability than Holden so there must be a different reason they are so low.

[mik]

no doubt there are area`s both camps could improve upon, without seeing the questions its hard to know, on the other hand being the 2 biggest cars if fuel economy was mentioned they would be behind the 8 ball to start.

[Dr Smith]

Originally Posted by Windsor220

Hard to say this is a reflection on the car itself or the service/sales experience. I'll tell you now there is no way that Mitsushi would be worse reliability than Holden so there must be a different reason they are so low.

The Net Promoter Score is calculated by asking respondents their likelihood to recommend their brand on a scale of 0-10 where 0 is highly unlikely and 10 is highly likely. Respondents that score 9 or 10 are called Promoters, 7 to 8 are called Passives and 0 to 6 are called Detractors. The Net Promoter Score is the percentage of Promoters less the percentage of Detractors.

I'd rather something like the US JD Powers survey.
Just thinking out aloud say you have two scenarios.
Car X has had 5 warranty claims however the dealer has treated you like a god and fixed everything first time.
Car Y had 1 warranty claim however dealer treated you like an unwashed caveman, how do you respond in such a survey where Car X had far more problems then car Y and yet the aftersales side was incredibly better.

[Joe5619]

I'm not sure how these surveys are done, but I've only bought one new Ford (Dec 2009) & I only have nice things to say.. The whole experience to day has been great & I tell this to anyone that want to listen... I guess there must be alot more bad dealers then good ones.

[DanielXR8]

Word of mouth has a big impact. Mate of mine has been boarding with us for the past few months, as we have a flat at our place. Seen first hand the Terri we own, the issues with it and has driven it numerous times. One of the windows broke one day when he drove it, which on top of what he had seen already with the car raised eyebrows. The final straw for him was Fords answers to the Terri ball joint issues as he thought they should have been an official recall and nothing less was acceptable to him. Couldn't believe Fords attitude to its customers - particuarly to families that this car is aimed at.

Swore off Ford products after that and said that Ford was a brand he would never buy. No big deal really, as he doesn't buy new cars, so no big deal for Ford except.....

The company he works for do and they take his recommendation for what they should buy as fleet cars. You can guess no new Fords ever will be purchased by them.

And still some on here think a new tv ad will fix everything.

And yes I know there are some good Fords out there. I have owned two myself.

Also two ordinary ones, one poor one and one outright lemon.

Ford aren't making less cars by choice. They only have a limited number of customers left to sell to. Bloody sad for a company that should be doing better.

[ebxr8240]

Over the past 20 years I have bought 3 Fords and 2 Subaru's...
If I take the Ford into a dealership for any warranty claim ..
It's like I'm trying to rip them off...
When I take the Subaru in its.. Yes well fix that no problems..
Mazda is much the same ... Good service means alot...

[pottery beige]

Ford after sales.... who are you.. what do you want..??..

[madmelon]

I think to publish an article like that after only 1720 respondents is a bit rich. that's 191 per BRAND, let alone per model. Need far more numbers to get a good indication of attitudes held by the population at large- figures like that can vary wildly just depending on suburb!

[Stoney!]

Originally Posted by Dr Smith

I'd rather something like the US JD Powers survey.
Just thinking out aloud say you have two scenarios.
Car X has had 5 warranty claims however the dealer has treated you like a god and fixed everything first time.
Car Y had 1 warranty claim however dealer treated you like an unwashed caveman, how do you respond in such a survey where Car X had far more problems then car Y and yet the aftersales side was incredibly better.

I would much rather be the owner of car X each and every time, customer servicing and knowing things are getting done mean a hell of a lot to me...

Stoney!

[uranium_death]

Frankly, 1720 people surveyed is hardly enough to get any honest feel for customer satisfaction.

The VTII has been in the garage for 10 years and it's been bloody good. Mechanically very sound (only had steering rack replaced), electronically okay (central locking had issues, and ABS control unit packed it), and the car has taken a bit of punishnent (body in good nick - only 2 dents from buttwipes in carparks who cannot drive/open their doors properly)....we use it for maintenance in St Albans sometimes (carrying all sorts of stuff, with carrybars).

What do people want from a large car that costs 30,000-50,000?
You aren't getting a Mercedes or BMW!

We understand that car dealerships are a fecking ripoff so we've always preferred a smaller garage where the service is more personalised, the waiting list in maximum of 2 days, and there is a face that can answer our questions and concerns.

I know that by rights, when you purchase a car you should get good service all the way through, but I take a pessimistic/realistic view (depending on your outlook) and say that dealerships too often are run poorly and rather than run the risk of having somebody look at the car half-arsed, I'll go somewhere that has look after a couple of our cars very well and have complete peace of mind.

[mik]

i often wonder if the service discrepancy from some dealers if it is a country city thing, i know back in the 70`s i worked for a big dealer and they bent over backwards to look after the customer, the manager that ran the place was a top bloke.

[Dave R]

If Ford had half decent dealers it wouldn't be a problem. I had my car into Ford service recently for a few small warranty issues, they had the car for the whole day and didn't manage to fix a single one! They acknowleged the problems were there and said they fixed them; I get in the car and it's exactly the same. So I'm out of pocket on petrol to get to the dealer, money for the train, then $40 in taxi fares to get home/return to the station later. Not to mention the waste of time the whole day was. THIS is why people are giving Ford negative feedback. If Ford didn't engineer brilliant products I'd be elsewhere due to the pitiful dealer network.

[Seduce XR6]

Originally Posted by ebxr8240

Over the past 20 years I have bought 3 Fords and 2 Subaru's...
If I take the Ford into a dealership for any warranty claim ..
It's like I'm trying to rip them off...
When I take the Subaru in its.. Yes well fix that no problems..
Mazda is much the same ... Good service means alot...

Yes your correct & this poor aftersales customer service is commonplace.

We may love the product but the experiance is often soured afterwards.

[AussieAV]

Had an issue with my new car last week before I even accepted delivery. Thankfully I got it through a good dealership (as recommended by you guys - thanks AFF) and was all resolved to my satisfaction.

These forums are a powerful tool. Use them to help support the good dealers and eventually the not-so-good will be forced to lift their game. People are now able to tell thousands about their good/bad experiences. Only a few years ago word-of-mouth would only have had a small impact on a dealers business, but that impact is increasing rapidly with forums like this, and soon dealers will realise that bad customer service will have the potential to cripple their them.

When I bought my car, I phoned my nearest dealer who I'd gotten my original quote from and told them I'd gone elsewhere because of feedback on some forums. The Sales Manager phoned me back and spent ten minutes explaining the recent changes the dealership had undergone to improve their customer service. Bear in mind that he knew I'd already signed with someone else, and that he couldn't get my business. He just wanted to make sure that I didn't perpetuate the old view of their company. I think dealers are starting to realise that with all the social networking on the internet now, they just can't afford to treat us badly anymore.

[prydey]

did the 1720 respondants have to have recently bought a new car? if not, it makes a mockery of it. i could drive around in an xf and say fords are rubbish 'cos the door handles keep breaking.

1720 people is hardly worth reporting about as well.

[pottery beige]

i find it funny how at times we all love to get on here and bash Fords / dealers.... then an independant survey bashes them... nah mate that survey is crap..... big hahahaha

[The Snout]

^

Yeah, and if the survey had shown Ford was the #1 rated brand for satisfaction, I bet the complaints about only 1720 people surveyed would disappear too.

Survey just says what we already knew.

[Wretched]

I can see the results as being valid.
My experiences with Ford dealers has been pretty woeful at best.
Once the car is bought the salesman don't want to know you. They're constant excuses for late delivery, etc is tiresome. If they don't know when a car will be delivered then just say that, don't make up a time.

Servicing lately has been a horrid experience. Warranty claims are like extracting blood out of a stone, everyone treats you like a liar. Some times my car comes out of the service dept with more problems than it went in with and then they charge a king's ransom for the privilege.

Once the warranty on the Focus is finished I'll never step foot back into a Ford dealership. I'll have it serviced somewhere else.

[aussie muscle]

Originally Posted by madmelon

I think to publish an article like that after only 1720 respondents is a bit rich. !

it's better numbers than the daily telegraph's survey of 100 people found that majority of australians wants a change to our national flag.

[aussie muscle]

Originally Posted by Wretched

Once the warranty on the Focus is finished I'll never step foot back into a Ford dealership. I'll have it serviced somewhere else.

why wait? as long as it's serviced to Ford spec, they have to fulfill their warranty obligations.

[madmelon]

Originally Posted by aussie muscle

it's better numbers than the daily telegraph's survey of 100 people found that majority of australians wants a change to our national flag.

Both are a disgrace...

[EgoFG]

So they asked 225 Ford Owners what they thought about their Fords, and 68 Subaru owner what they thought about their Subarus (assuming that they did it on a market distribution).

There are some things OK about this and so many pointless, or statistically invalid things

But my main problem is this:
They are trying to objectify subjective opinions: Opinions are just that - opinions. They are wrapping them with numbers and percentages to make it look objective. As such this is more a customer loyalty survey. People with high brand loyalty will complain less. In theory a Subaru Driver may be satisfied with his Subaru even though it spent 10 days in the shop having its alarm fixed - but it was fixed for free so he is happy, whereas a Ford Owner my by dissatisfied because he thinks his fuel cap does not lock. In this survey these two opinions are rated equally.

[metallurg]

I currently own a Mazda6, and have had plenty of issues with it. The big plus is that the dealer(s) I've dealt with have been great for the most part.

My next car is likely to be a Falcon, probably FGII XR6. However, after spending much time reading through the issues with these cars on this forum, I'm somewhat put off - not by the issues themselves, but by the attitude of the dealers.
I realise not all dealers are the same yadda yadda, but it really seems as though the majority don't want to help. Maybe people with good experiences don't post as often?

[RG]

It's a pretty sad state of affairs for Ford. The amount of threads and people I've known that have had hassles for simple warranty claims is beyond ridiculous.

Compare that with the Peugeot dealer I bought my Pug from (Preston Motors Brighton European, free plug) and they are polar opposites. I buy a second hand pug for sub 10k and have to take it back to have a couple of issues rectified. None of this is a hassle and I am even being offered a loan car from them while mine is in, for only a day mind you, getting fixed. They'll even pick me up and drop me off at the train station, which is only a 5 minute walk, if I don't want the loan car or am just getting a service.

Now that is good service and how buyers should be treated.

[Joe5619]

Originally Posted by RG

It's a pretty sad state of affairs for Ford. The amount of threads and people I've known that have had hassles for simple warranty claims is beyond ridiculous.

Compare that with the Peugeot dealer I bought my Pug from (Preston Motors Brighton European, free plug) and they are polar opposites. I buy a second hand pug for sub 10k and have to take it back to have a couple of issues rectified. None of this is a hassle and I am even being offered a loan car from them while mine is in, for only a day mind you, getting fixed. They'll even pick me up and drop me off at the train station, which is only a 5 minute walk, if I don't want the loan car or am just getting a service.

Now that is good service and how buyers should be treated.

Each to their own experience.. I have only bought one Ford & have very very impressed with the whole expereince thus far, yet I know of 2 people that have had nothing but problem after problem with the Peugeots.. To a point, that I'd never consider a Peugeot.. Yet you have the oppoiste story to tell!!

[Yellow_Festiva]

Well... After a nasty experience getting my car serviced at Ford I too vowed to not bother with dealership servicing.

When I called Ford head office to voice my gripe, they said they will only look into it if they have several similar complaints.

Anyway, mum has a new Hyundai and the dealer service has been honest and excellent, especially for after sales warranty issues.

Ford has a lot of room for improvement. They are producing superb products, they just need to keep the customers happy once money has changed hands.

[prydey]

you will always get more bad stories than good on the internet.

my ford dealer (wayne phillis - reynella) is fantastic. never charges full price, has even done a couple of freebies (machine discs) and gave me a loan car free of charge (normally $40/day) when my bf2 had the frnt timing seal replaced.

i also find sometimes its as much about the attitude of the customer as it is the dealer. treat people how i like to be treated works pretty well for me.

[DanielXR8]

Originally Posted by prydey

did the 1720 respondants have to have recently bought a new car? if not, it makes a mockery of it. i could drive around in an xf and say fords are rubbish 'cos the door handles keep breaking.

1720 people is hardly worth reporting about as well.

If you swore off Ford because of the XF, and hadn't purchased a Ford since, then it would be very relevant. It would say Ford have not managed through marketing, product, dealer experiences or by word of mouth, convinced you to consider them again or to qualify your critism of the car by saying something like "I hear the new ones are good from the guys at work" or whatever.

That kind of experience and information is entirely relevant to Ford Australias' future.