Mercedes-Benz India ranks highest in customer satisfaction index

Mercedes-Benz India has achieved the top position in achieving highest customer satisfaction in J.D. power 2015 India customer service index (CSI). The survey is mainly focused on the authorised dealerships of the brand. The three point star brand has achieved an overall score of 842 amongst its peers in the Indian market. The survey which is in the third year, constitutes the satisfaction of 265 luxury car owners who had visited the authorised dealership to carry out maintenance or repair work between first and second year of ownership. The survey is split of the basis of overall satisfaction on five factors- service quality, vehicle pick-up, service advisor, service facility and service initiation, listed in order of importance.

Luxury car owners look forward to a direct interaction with the service adviser handling their vehicle. This section of the survey includes the satisfaction received by the owners on the basis of the timely updates of their cars and reviewing the work done.  Such interaction have been observed to be less frequent in 2015, with 56 per cent of the owners mentioned their service advisors to be interactive as compared to 74 per cent in 2014.

In terms of dealership service towards customer loyalty, 24 per cent of customers were very much satisfied with the dealer faculty, out of which 79 per cent said that they ‘definitely would ‘ return to their dealers for services after warranty period and 85 per cent said that they will recommend their dealer to friends and family. In comparison to the owners who were less satisfied, only 46 per cent agreed on returning to the dealer after warranty period to carry out service and repair work followed by 66 per cent of owner would recommend the respective dealer to others. Same day delivery of vehicle was also observed to be 64 per cent for 2015 as compared to 56 per cent achieved in 2014.

“Luxury vehicle owners around the world normally expect a high level of personalized service, and that holds true for their service experience,” said Mohit Arora, executive director at J.D. Power, Singapore.

 “Customers expect their service advisor to have an ongoing dialogue with them so they can know the status of the work being done throughout the process. Luxury car manufacturers and their dealerships need to develop appropriate communication protocols in order to fulfil this expectation and drive greater customer engagement.” he further added.

Customer service is a crucial factor when it comes to top luxurious brands. Mercedes-Benz on the basis of survey finding will be expected to focus on improving the reviewing of the work carried out on the vehicle, performing proper inspection prior to work completion followed by cleaning of the car exterior as well as interiors. Statically, 21 per cent of owners indicated their vehicle were not cleaned properly when returned back to then after servicing which was 7 per cent in 2014.