GM "Not At All Satisfied" with dealers tampering with customer surveys
General Motors is throwing out the results of some recent customer satisfaction surveys because it says some of its dealers cheated. GM won't say how many surveys were tampered with or how many dealers are accused of doing it, but they are taking it seriously. A GM spokeswoman told Automotive News (sub. req'd.) the tampering was not widespread.GM sends the surveys to customers' homes to reduce the chance of tampering, but some dealers have been known to offer customers incentives if they are allowed to fill out the surveys themselves. Customers can find it hard to pass up a free tank of gas in exchange for a 27-question survey they may not care about.
While customers should be upset that their dealer opinions might not be recognized by the company, but dealers accused of this have a lot more to lose. Automotive News says dealers are awarded bonuses according to their customer satisfaction scores and can make as much as $420,000 each quarter depending on the dealership's sales volume. With that kind of money, some GM outlets may find it hard to resist cheating.
[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req.]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
KKop 6:12PM (9/10/2007)
Hardly a GM-only problem. I get a stern talking-to every time I visit my Nissan dealer about the survey I may receive in the mail. No promises about free gas, though (I wish!).
Also, whenever I have been dissatisfied with my service visit, I never receive a survey in the mail, I only get them after visits that went well... funny that.
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WooHoo2 10:47PM (10/11/2007)
Every brand's dealers pulls this crap! They won't let you fill out a bad survey when your in the dealer, I know that for a fact. You have to talk to the manager and give the dealer the highest marks on the survey. Good for GM. Other brands should do the same.
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Saurabh 6:16PM (9/10/2007)
I always get a strict talk from ym BMW dealership. They have the same system, except in theirs they email or call you for the survey. They've gone as far as threaten to not store my set of winter tires cause they are "full" or forget to clean my car if I don't give them 5 (top marks) on everything.
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YouFaceTheTick 6:38PM (9/10/2007)
Yep, BMW/Mini dealers are uber-aggressive. Pisses me off. If you want a 5, I should get a $20 taped to the underside of my seat. My 2003 330i was in the shop monthly and they still demanded 5s. Same with my 2006 330i. Hello, if you're not fixing the problem why would I give you 5s?!
Tsunami Racer 6:25PM (9/10/2007)
i say we change our state laws and allow car manufacturers to sell direct to consumers without having to go through these antiquated, independent franchised "brokers" for our automobile purchases and service.
i can get a new computer direct from the manufacturer. i can get a cell phone direct from the service provider. why do i have to put up with franchised crap service for cars?
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Jared 6:37PM (9/10/2007)
To put all dealerships in the same group is akin to being racist towards a certain set of people or religion. Like anything there are good and bad dealerships. Change the way bad dealerships do things by not buying from them and telling your friends and aquaintances to do the same. Also support those dealerships that do good business practices and support the communtiy and deal with you honestly. They tried to sell factory direct, but the fact of the matter is, consumers still want to touch, drive, smell, and see what they are buying. I don't buy a twenty dollar pair of shoes without buying let alone a 10,000 and up vehicle.
All brands of car manufacturers encourage dealerships to coach consumers by telling them how they grade. Allthough it's not official, I've seen documents to that respect. That being said practices where a perfect survey is given in exchange for money, service, or other good is a little less than ethical, but most consumers think very satisfied is just almost as good as completely but in truth one is viewed as seventy five percent to the dealer and one is viewed as one hundred. It's pass or fail and that is why an explanation of the survey is needed for most people.
AZMike 8:17PM (9/10/2007)
you're waaaay off on this one. as a former dealer myself, you can't imagine how many times a customer comes in, and the factory disallows the warranty claim. as a customer, you would never know.
why?
many good dealers (and there are many more good than bad) keep several hundred thousand dollars around to keep their customers happy, even if the factory disallows the claim.
factory stores have been tried before (in the early '90's by Ford and GM), and met with absolutely miserable failure.
AZMike
Tsunami Racer 9:10PM (9/10/2007)
well, we're obviously on different sides of the pond on this issue because i used to work for a manufacturer.
no matter how well we built our cars and no matter how well we marketed the cars and drove traffic to our dealer network, and no matter how much money was spent on product training for the sales people and the service people, it was all undone in the end by the old fashioned "four square" dealing and "what can i do to put you in this car today" mentality of many dealers.
you're right, i was wrong to bulk all dealers in the same negative pile. i will say, however, that the dealer base of the company i worked for, by in large, was the weakest link in the overall business equation: product scored high; quality scored high; customer loyalty scored high; dealer satisfaction was miserable and constantly scored below industry average.
and there wasn't a damn thing we could do about it because the franchise agreements were written so long ago. so we had to "reinvent" ourselves with new product lines that forced more stringent dealer franchise agreements focused on customer service.
you'll never hear manufacturers' executives piss off dealers by telling them they could do better. but we all knew we could if we had the opportunity (legally and politically). this has been proven to be the case with many other consumer product industries. why can't customers buy a car like they buy a computer or a TV? i don't know, why not? the only people who come up with a million reasons why not are some of the old fashioned dealers themselves who are resistant to change.
the only saving grace is that consumers are now educated more than ever and this will naturally weed out the 'bad dealers'. the auto industry is ripe for change in the way we sell and service cars, and the auto buying public will force the issue: more fixed pricing, more online based transactions, more simplified buying processes, high information-low pressure sales and quick efficient service.
surveys or not, the bad dealers will fail; let's just hope they don't take the entire industry with them.
Brad 11:34PM (9/10/2007)
"dealers keep around several hundred thousand dollars just to keep customers happy when the factory disallows the claim"
That's a new one on me and I was in the business for 23 years. I don't know any dealer that has several hundred thousand dollars just laying around for anything. It must just be a big city thing. All of the ones around here needed every spare penny they could find to try and cover the huge losses they posted every month.
Jared 9:57AM (9/11/2007)
Tsunami,
I don't know what company you worked for, but apparantly you were mislead on many issues about dealers. Obviously warranty claim you know nothing about, most car lines cover claims to a t because they know it is a direct link to peoples perception of their quality. Secondly, the part about dealers having hundreds of thousands of dollars in wait to cover failed warranty claims. You lose all validity for your statements because these are such blatent lies or horribly ignorant statements.
Tsunami Racer 11:19AM (9/11/2007)
huh? wait jared, i'm agreeing with you. i think you've got my comments mixed up with some others up there. i too have never heard of a dealer who spends thousands to cover warranty claims that the manufacturer won't pick up . and if they do cover, they make it up in billings elsewhere to either the manufacturer on the backend or through the regional dealer group.
yes, there are certain companies that do not cover warranty claims like they should and make it a paper nightmare for the dealer to fix something (one starts with a V, ends in a W). however, by in large, auto manufacturer have millions budgeted to cover warranty claims in a given year. what does ruin it are (again) the handful of unscrupulous dealers that bill claim after claim that shouldn't have been covered that go beyond good will and are simply fraudulent.
Jared 6:39PM (9/10/2007)
I meant trying the shoes on as opposed to buying. Sorry, that's why one should proofread.
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the friendly grizzly 6:42PM (9/10/2007)
Saurabh: "Vee haf VAYS of making you give us good marks!
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AnonyMust 6:44PM (9/10/2007)
Who hasn't had the salemans and the F&I tell you to put 'all 100's' on the survey. This industry is run by corrupt people who are out to make money as much money as they can. Many will do or say anything to achieve their objective. This is coming from someone who worked in the industry under several nameplates. These surveys are at best silly
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alex 6:46PM (9/10/2007)
at least they recognize the problem and seems like they are going to take steps to fix it.
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Drew 6:52PM (9/10/2007)
After the last time I visited my Chevy dealer for service on my Colorado, I was offered a full interior and exterior detail if I turned the survey in with all 5s before the end of the quarter/month (March) in addition to a gas card offered by GM. I wasn't happy with my service and let the caller know. Funny, I never received a survey...
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Nick 6:59PM (9/10/2007)
When I bought my Mitsubishi, my dealer essentially attempted to bribe me by offering me a free oil change in exchange for a blank survey form. I reported them to JD Power, and JD Power retaliated by sending my email with name and email intact directly to the dealership instead of the manufacturer. This resulted in my dealer threatening me over the phone. JD Power is also a shady org in my opinion since clearly their attitude was "don't get caught" rather than doing the right thing and showing that there was potential for abuse in their process. Bastards. Please feel free to forward this comment to anyone you know at JD Power.
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Stratojet 7:05PM (9/10/2007)
This satisfaction survey benifits only one entity: the corporation who is in charge of it. They make millions of $$ by having GM believe that a Completly satisfied customer will buy a GM again in 87% of the case. Bunch of crap that all started with an article in Harvard Business Review : "Why satisfied customers defect?". This theory says that a completly satisfied customers will buy from the corporation again at a much higher %.
Totaly false. Toyota and Honda have the worst Satisfaction index as far as Dealers go ; this has been said again and again by no other than Consumer Reports.
What matters are the three following things:
1- Product
2- Product
3-Product
Some retarded executives in GM buy into this Satisfaction scheme ; I would not be surprised that they also receive some perks and little enveloppes from those "Satisfaction Experts Corporation" who fly in circle around GM like a vulture.
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rgseidl 7:21PM (9/10/2007)
So why involve dealers in the survey process at all? For that kind of money, send out teams of students and have them scour car parks looking for vehicles of the right brand. Give them handheld PDAs so they can use the VIN number or license plate to determine if the model and year fit the required profile. If so, let them leave a flyer under the wipers inviting the owner to call the manufacturer's 1-800 number to participate in a customer satisfaction survey regarding their sales and service experience at their dealership. If they respond, are verified as the owner of a qualifying vehicle and answer all the questions, they are sent a free gift worth ~$20 for their trouble.
That way, the fox isn't guarding the henhouse.
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JT 7:22PM (9/10/2007)
GM SURVEYS ARE SENT OUT 4-6 WEEKS AFTER DELIVERY........LEXUS SURVEYS ARE DONE AT DELIVERY..ENSURING A 100% SATISFATION. AT THE LEXUS STORE HERE THEY WILL NOT MAKE A DEAL UNLESS IT IS FILLED OUT PERECTLY! THAT'S HOW TOYOTA HAS THE WOOL PULLED OVER EVERYONES EYES. AND GM WILL SEND OUT A RE-CALL NOTICE TO BRING YOUR CAR BACK SO THEY CAN REPLACE AT NO CHARGE, ITEMS THEY NEED TO BE ADDRESSED. LEXUS SENDS OUT A FREE OIL CHANGE AND CUSTOMER APPRETIATION INVITE TO THE DEALER....AT THAT TIME THEY FIX THE RECALL THAT ONLY SERVICE KNEW ABOUT. I HAVE WORKED FOR BOTH BRANDS. TOYOTA OWNS THE PUBLIC AND THAT DON'T EVEN KNOW IT.
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