OK Tire Wins, Aftermarket Scores Well In New Study

OK Tire ranked highest in satisfying automotive
customers in Canada with the service establishment experience, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2008 Canadian Customer Commitment Index Study(SM) released today.
The study provides a measure of the service satisfaction and loyalty of owners of 2- to 12-year-old vehicles.
Overall customer satisfaction with vehicle service providers is determined by examining five key factors: appointment/check-in, service advisor, work quality, after-service and
customer orientation.
The study examines customer satisfaction with both dealerships and aftermarket facilities.
OK Tire achieved an overall index score of 902 on a 1,000-point scale and performed particularly well in work quality and customer orientation-two of the most important drivers of customer satisfaction.
Petro-Canada (Certigard) follows OK Tire in the rankings with a score of 886, while Autopro ranks third overall with 881.
The study found that customer satisfaction with the service experience has risen steadily-up from 826 points in 2004 to 850 points in 2008. The improvement in 2008 is driven by increased satisfaction in the customer orientation, service advisor and work quality factors.
“In addition to improvements in various measures of dealer performance, satisfaction with service delivered by new-car dealers in particular also
increased,” said Adrian Chung, manager of automotive syndicated research at J.D. Power and Associates.
“This suggests that service centers across the
industry are listening to their customers, and putting more focus on improving the overall service experience.”
The study found that 2- to 12-year-old vehicles account for nearly 70 percent of all vehicles in Canada in 2008.
Owners within this category spend an average of $860 annually on service and repairs, creating substantial revenue potential for all types of service establishments.
“Satisfaction with the service experience is essential to increasing customer loyalty, which can have considerable impact on the bottom line for a service establishment,” said Chung.
The study also finds that share of service occasions accounted for by the various types of service establishments-including new car dealerships, independent repair shops, quick lubes, tire specialists, auto specialists and
mass merchants-shifted slightly in 2008 compared with 2007, with new-car dealers losing market share.
The most noteworthy drop in share for new-car
dealers was among owners of 2- to 3-year-old vehicles, declining from 75 percent in 2007 to 73 percent in 2008.
The 2008 Canadian Customer Commitment Index Study is based on responses from 17,114 owners of 2- to 12-year-old vehicles.
The study was fielded between December 2007 and May 2008.