Offering Tractor Repair and Maintenance Service at Owner Premises Increases Customer Satisfaction, J.D. Power Finds
30 Aug. 2018 — Customer satisfaction with tractor after-sales service is higher (up 28 points on a 1,000-point scale) when owners choose to have their tractor serviced at their own premises, compared to when they would have liked but are not offered this door-step service option by their dealer, according to the J.D. Power 2018 India Tractor Customer Service Index (CSI) Study,SM released today.
The study finds that 58% of tractor owners received offers from their dealer to service their tractor at the owner’s premises, with 41% of customers selecting this service. Additionally, more than one-third (34%) of customers opting for the door-step service had a better-than-expected overall service experience than those who would have liked but were not offered the service (20%).
“In a rapidly transforming sector influenced by growing innovation, customer expectations of what defines an exceptional service experience keep changing,” said Yukti Arora, Practice Lead, Agriculture and Construction Equipment at J.D. Power. “Customers expect a convenient and personalized service from their dealer network, that is accessible to them through multiple channels. While the industry is making consistent efforts to improve the customer experience, current service offerings are often seen as inconsistent and disjointed. Manufacturers and dealers need to shift the focus from transactional sales and service practices to initiatives that meet their customers’ unique requirements in the most timely and cost-efficient way.”
The study also finds that satisfaction with service increases when tractor owners receive proactive reminders from their dealers about routine maintenance appointments, compared to when customers have to visit the dealer for arranging their service or repair work (827 vs. 807, respectively). However, only 1 in 5 tractor owners were contacted by their dealer to arrange for their service/ repair visit.
The following are additional key findings of the study:
- Focus of after-sales services differs by region:Western states have the highest proportion of dealerships proactively contacting their customers for service. Southern states have the highest percentage of customers whose tractor was serviced at the customer’s premises during their most recent service. Northern states have the highest proportion of customers indicating that their tractor was returned to them cleaner after servicing. And Eastern states have the highest percentage of customers saying their service engineer was courteous and attentive to their requirements.
- Wait time for parts impacts service satisfaction: Customer satisfaction is 73 points higher when the dealer supplies parts on the same day or immediately when ordered, compared to when dealers take three or more days (838 vs. 765, respectively).
- Dealer loyalty is up: Overall dealer loyalty and advocacy rates increase in 2018, as 62% of tractor owners say they “definitely would” revisit their authorised dealer for maintenance or repair work, compared with 53% in 2017. Furthermore, 64% say they “definitely would” recommend their authorised dealer to a colleague or friend, compared with 54% last year.
Study Rankings
Mahindra ranks highest in satisfaction with the after-sales service experience with a score of 831, a 30-point improvement from 2017. Mahindra Swaraj (825)ranks second and John Deere (822) ranks third among the eight brands included in the study.
The study, now in its fourth year, examines satisfaction among tractor owners who visited an authorised service centre for maintenance or repair work in the last 12 months. Overall customer satisfaction is based on a combined score of the service satisfaction and parts operation indices. The service satisfaction index measures overall satisfaction across four factors (listed in order of importance): service quality; service engineer; service initiation; and service handover. The parts operation index captures satisfaction across five attributes: availability of parts; speed of parts delivery; parts value for money; quality of parts; and correct identification of parts required.