With most of India constituting a young populace, customers/car buyers who are 30 years and younger have a higher quality service experience expectation when it comes to vehicle service. J.D. Power 2018 India Customer Service Index (Mass Market) Study points to the fact that 28 percent of customers going in for service are 30 years or younger.
With a score of 912, Hyundai ranks highest in after-sales customer satisfaction. Tata Motors covets 2nd place with a score of 874, and Mahindra came in third at 865. The mass market average was calculated at 838.
2018 India Customer Service Index (Mass Market) Study takes into account responses of 9,045 new-vehicle owners who purchased a vehicle between March 2015 and August 2017. The study was fielded between March through August 2018. The study takes into account five factors: service quality (30%); service initiation (18%); service facility (18%); service advisor (17%); and vehicle pick-up (17%).
Dealership service process includes thorough multi-point inspection, taking into account all customer requests; explaining pre- and post service work undertaken; and regular vehicle status updates. On a 1,000-point scale, younger customers are less satisfied than those who are above the age of 30 (825 vs 848).
In the last five years, the number of customers waiting at a dealership through a scheduled service has increased 31 percent in 2018 when compared to 21 percent in 2014. This is because of quicker service turnaround time. 55 percent of respondents who waited at a dealership during a service appointment said they recd their car within 3 hours.
“India’s population is expected to be among the youngest in the world by 2020,” said Kaustav Roy, Regional Director at J.D. Power. As such, it’s imperative to understand this customer base to improve customer loyalty in the years to come. From a business standpoint, customers who accept additional work generate 12 percent more revenue for a dealership than those who are not in agreement with an advisor’s recommendations.
