Survey: Dealerships Narrow Gap, While Independent Shops Maintain Lead in Customer Satisfaction

While independent repair shops still lead dealership service departments in customer satisfaction, a recent study from CDK Global suggests that gap may have slightly shrunk in the past year, but also highlights the strengths independent shops have over dealerships.

Dealership Pain Points

The CDK Service Shopper 4.0 study surveyed over 2,000 customers who have received car maintenance and repairs on their opinions of dealership service.

Dealership service departments’ Net Promoter Score, which represents a customer’s likelihood to recommend a business, was 59. It marks a 14-point increase from 2023. 

Independent shops still outrank dealerships with a NPS score of 66, but their former 11-point lead decreased to seven points this year.

For the first time, CDK evaluated the role phones play in a customer’s experience with booking an appointment.

64% of customers will opt to use their phones for scheduling visits. Many respondents reported experiencing issues with being able to arrange dealership appointments on their phone, which negatively impacted their chances of recommending the business to others.

Additionally, customers who were put on hold by a dealership had a 20% lower NPS score on average, with the average hold time for dealership customers being over eight minutes.

Respondents expressed much negativity surrounding the transparency of pricing at dealerships, with personalized offers and discounts ranking at number two on what customers want from their auto service provider, marking a first for the survey.

What Appeals to Customers

In turn, CDK underscored the value of artificial intelligence tools to assist with generating custom discounts for customers, as well as helping answer phones or responding to inquiries. 

The study also emphasized the importance of offering a waiting room with amenities such as Wi-Fi and refreshments to customers, with most preferring to wait on their vehicle as it’s serviced.

Independents VS. Dealers

In terms of advantages independent repair providers have over dealership service departments, pricing has not played as big of a factor, falling from the number one reason consumers chose an independent in 2022 to fourth this year.

While the top three reasons consumers chose a dealership were service staff knowledge, existing relationships, and a good reputation, for independents, good reputation, convenient location, and existing relationships ranked as top reasons, in that order.