MG Ranks Highest In India Customer Service For Second Consecutive Year

Vehicle owners in India place a great level of importance on proactive service advisor-led interaction during their service experience, according to the J.D. Power 2022 India Customer Service Index (CSI) Study released today. After a hiatus since 2021, J.D. Power has relaunched the India Customer Service Index (CSI) Study in collaboration with NielsenIQ.

Communication from service advisors encompass several elements such as a thorough multi-point check, confirmation of service requests, review and explanation of work pre and post service, and regular status updates. The study finds that satisfaction among customers who have received implementation of all interaction elements increases by 25 index points (on a 1,000-point scale) vs. among those who do not receive them (863 vs. 838, respectively)

“Clear, proactive and timely interaction from advisors demonstrates a clear commitment towards customer engagement,” said Sandeep Pande, lead of the automotive practice India at NielsenIQ. “Dealerships that are able to deliver both on quality of service and interaction can expect to achieve higher recommendation and retention levels.”

Quality of work remains critical for satisfaction, more than three-fourths (80%) of customers say that key elements of service quality were done, such as completion of all requested work; work done right the first time; and the vehicle was cleaned. Satisfaction declines 22 points when customers say that even one of these elements was missed.

Younger customers harder to please,  millennials1 and Gen Z customers are the least satisfied among generational groups, with overall satisfaction of 822, which is 22 points below the average. They are significantly more critical of any omission in the implementation of both interaction and quality of service. In contrast, older customers over the age of 35 tend to be more forgiving and place a higher importance on the quality of service.

MG India ranks highest with a score 860. Honda (852), Hyundai (852) and Toyota (852) each rank second, in a tie.

The study measures new-vehicle owners’ satisfaction with the after-sales process by examining dealership performance in five factors (listed in order of importance): service initiation, service advisor, vehicle pick-up, service quality, and service facility. The study only examines aftersale satisfaction in the mass market segment.

The 2022 India Customer Service Index (CSI) study is based on responses from 5,586 new-vehicle owners who purchased their vehicle from July 2019 through September 2021. From July through September 2022, NielsenIQ conducted face-to-face surveys in 25 major cities in India, asking 125 questions of vehicle owners about their experience with their most recent service done at their brand’s authorised workshop. After conducting the surveys, the responses were cleaned for data quality and calculated. Brands included in the study are ranked according to aggregate score.

Using comprehensive data sets and measuring all transactions equally, NielsenIQ gives clients a forward- looking view into consumer behavior to optimize performance across all retail platforms. Our open philosophy on data integration enables the most influential consumer data sets on the planet. NielsenIQ delivers the complete truth.

NielsenIQ, an Advent International portfolio company, has operations in nearly 100 markets, covering more than 90 per cent of the world’s population.