Friday, September 30, 2011

From 1-10, a 10 is the only passing grade

Here’s something that’s a bit annoying to me, and this isn’t the first place I’ve seen it.  Automobile Service Surveys.

Once I’m done with a vehicle service, they let me know that I’m going to get a survey on their performance.  No problem, right?  A short survey to help them either be congratulated for a job well done, or see where to improve, makes sense.

Then they hand me this:

So in their mind and their parent company’s mind, a 10 is the ONLY acceptable score. And they’re basically begging for it. They’re nice guys, I don’t want to get them in trouble, but not everything there was worth a 10.

Doesn’t requiring a 10 by the parent company and begging for a 10 by the dealership dilute the entire purpose of a survey? 

And I’ve learned from dealing with other car manufacturers that if you put an 8 or 9 on there, you’re likely to get a call from the service advisor that the survey is about.  Now THAT’S uncomfortable.

So in summary, the dealer gets an “excellent” grade most of the time even if the service was merely adequate, the manufacturer is wasting their time even having a survey because it’s not a true measurement of performance, and both of them throw away the opportunity to actually learn how they could possible improve.  Oh, and they’ve inconvenienced their customer by making them take a survey that’s useless and inaccurate.  Awesome.  I wonder which VP that makes $500k a year is in charge of this program.

Please feel free to comment, even anonymously, on any of my posts.  I see all kinds of traffic on this site but I feel like I’m talking to myself!

6 comments:

  1. I just bought my first Hyundai last week and had a horrible experience. Was given 84 months financing when we agreed on 72, the salesman gave the finance manager a different monthly payment than we agreed upon, and after I left there crying, I thought "THANK GOD this is over!". I've been back there 4 times in one week because they let me leave without having me approve and a day later found out I was denied. Called me into the dealership to then say I needed a co-signer or I had to take my trade-in back. Came back the next day to exchange cars since I did not have a co-signer and was told the ended up getting me approved and I just needed to sign new paperwork since the lender changed. Signed the paperwork, and left. The next day, got called back in because the dealership manager put the wrong lender on the forms and I had to re-sign the paperwork. It has been a NIGHTMARE. All the while, the salesman telling me that I will get this survey and to PLEASE give him all 10's since anything else is a fail... and also, even though it asks questions about finance, the finance manager isn't 'really' graded on it, just the salesman is, so don't take this bad experience into consideration on the survey. He even told me that unless I give him all 10's, he gets paid ABSOLUTELY NOTHING for my sale. Talk about guilting me into this. Each time I went back in, I was reminded of this survey. I received 2 letters in the mail about this survey and a phone call just now from someone there. I did NOT have a good experience, nowhere near a 10. I very much want to put what I feel on this survey but have so much pressure now. Because I will be returning to this dealership for oil changes and such, and I am sure when they receive the results of the survey they know the customer's name, I feel like it will be so uncomfortable to speak my mind and then have to face them again. I am considering complaining to Hyundai about this. I agree 100% with what you wrote -- the survey is pointless if the dealerships need all 10's THAT bad to where they force untruthful answers out of their customers. So I have to ask -- do you give them all 10's, or what you really think?

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  2. Tell them what you think, don't be intimidated. No one is going to know there's a problem unless some one speaks up. Just gave my dealer a failing grade because of bad service because they DESERVE it! Suggest you do the same. You could always go to another dealer for service.

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  3. Sorry it took so long for me to answer, but you HAVE to give them a grade that reflects the service you received. I doubt they have the traceability to remember that you gave them a bad grade and punish you in any way.

    Sorry to hear you had such a lousy experience, but honestly, you have to give them the grade they deserve. If the salesperson doens't get paid, it's not your fault, it's their system's.

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  4. While I agree you should score them accurately, you are naive in thinking the dealership wont remember bad scores.

    Instead, I would advise that people speak up while at the dealership. Tell them on the spot that you are not being treated well. Warn them that you will not give them 10's unless the situation changes.

    If you dont get satisfaction then you gave them fair warning and they have no leg to stand on later (and you can remind them of it).

    I would also put your complaint in writing and send it to the owner before you submit the survey. Advise him/her that you are still willing to score them 10's if they contact you to make things right.

    Use the survey as leverage.

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    1. Eric: At this point, this is an old review. Maybe worthless. You are suggesting that anonymous be willing to change the review if the dealership makes changes. That's lying and becomes blackmail (I may use it... maybe ... and I know it's lying and blackmail). A new review may be appropriate. It's certainly more honest.

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  5. Eric, I agree with what you wrote in principle, but one of the questions is about the waiting area. It's small and looks terrible. They're not going to fix it while I wait so why bother talking to management? I gave my honest assessment and sent it in.

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