While a majority of car owners still choose independent repair facilities and car service chains, fixed operations at dealerships continues to make in-roads, according to CDK’s Service Shopper 4.0 study.
In a survey of over 2,000 customers who had car maintenance and repairs, dealership service departments’ Net Promoter Score (NPS)—a satisfaction score based on a customer’s likelihood to recommend a business—jumped 14 points to 59. While still behind independent shops score of 66, the gap of seven points is narrower than in 2023 when it was an 11-point difference.
Maybe of most importance, more than three quarters of respondents (78 percent) had their vehicle serviced at the same dealership where they purchased it. And the more positive the service experience, the more respondents said they’d purchase a car from that dealership in the future—creating a cycle of repeat business and revenue with the service department at the center.
Service Shopper
The findings are part of CDK’s recently released Service Shopper 4.0 report which looked at warranty customers, dealership revisits, the top reasons customers choose dealerships versus repair shops, the importance of online reviews and ratings, what’s contributing to a decline in types of services, and artificial intelligence’s (AI) impact on the customer phone journey.
CDK officials highlighted that this was the first year the survey looked at the integral role phones still play when it comes to booking an appointment at the dealer. A majority of customers (64 percent) use the phone to book their service appointments and they often run into issues that can impact their likelihood to recommend a dealership.
Those who were put on hold had far lower NPS results, nearly 20 points lower than the average. That’s even less of a surprise considering the average hold time was over eight minutes.
Warranty Customers
When we asked dealership service customers what the easiest part of their visit was, booking the appointment ranked first at 34 percent. However, this year’s study delved deeper into the most popular way of making an appointment and found significant room for improvement.
A majority of respondents (64 percent) booked their appointment over the phone, far more than any other method. And yes, even 65 percent of Gen Z booked via a phone call—more than millennials (54 percent) or Generation X (63 percent). Even though the majority of callers were able to schedule without a problem, four out of ten shoppers did run into significant friction points.
The happiest dealership customers are those still under warranty. These covered service shoppers return an NPS of 63.9, higher than those who were under warranty previously or never had a warranty; conversely, those who once had the protection of warranty but are now no longer covered who had the lowest scores of 52.8.
Valuing Time
The types of services customers drive into the service lane haven’t changed over the past few years. Oil changes are still what four out of five (81 percent) customers require, with tire needs a distant second at 50 percent. In fact, 13 of the 16 services traced saw a decline and one of those that saw an uptick was EV battery maintenance.
Time is crucial in a customer’s satisfaction, and most service visitors (62 percent) had their work done in the time they expected. Only 15 percent of dealership customers said it took longer than they were expecting. But just as important for a service department is the time promised to the customer.
There results were similarly positive with 87 percent of dealership customers getting their work done in the time promised or sooner. However, this stat still fell below the competition and more dealership customers said it took longer than expected (13 percent) than any other provider.
AI Interaction
While the idea of an AI voice assistant is relatively new, 31 percent of total respondents preferred booking with it versus finding their way to a live person on the phone (69 percent). Gen Z preferred this AI route the most at 51 percent. Boomers were last at 19 percent and because of their large representation, brought the total number down to 31.
Two areas CDK officials highlighted dealers should put resources into were lounge space and personalized offers. A majority of service shoppers are opting to wait until their service is completed, with 76 percent want a dealer with a comfortable lounge.
The report author commented that “comfort doesn’t mean a full renovation, but there are probably a few improvements you can make with little effort that’ll make a difference. A contemporary lounge is also a differentiator for dealerships because there’s little expectation that independents and chains will focus on expanding or upgrading their waiting areas at all.”
The Rise of Personalization
Each year the study asks what features customers would be pleased to have offered or upset if absent from the service experience. Personalized offers and discounts broke into the top five rankings all the way to number two for the first time, above extended service hours and a dedicated express lane.
Using digital tools to craft offers based on a vehicle’s history is becoming more prevalent and even works across providers.
As AI becomes a more common tool across technologies, customers could expect this tailored type of outreach to become more prevalent.
