Leaders Mercedes, BMW, Honda, Lexus, Buick and GMC

According to the latest research, women account for over two-thirds of all dealership service visits. Women-Drivers.com, the leader in capturing dealer reviews from women about their dealership experience, has reported the mid-year top auto brands in 'Service'. Scores are measured in WSI® or Women Satisfaction Index on a scale of 5.0 (Excellent) to 1.0 (Poor).

"NADA just released its 2013 Data report, sharing that the service portion of the business is flat with last year and remains the highest margin area for a dealership", said company President, Anne Fleming.
"The ability to increase sales and the loyalist base remains both precarious and opportunistic in the service lane. Service personnel must be spot‐on with customer engagement and customer treatment which is a real balancing act. It’s the place in the dealership for the best listeners; the Service Advisors need to be able to hear what women are concerned about and really listen to what they are not saying. Congratulations to these brands as they are putting value where it really matters ‐ customer retention equates to real trust and excellent communication."

The Top Auto Brands for Service

The top car brands* with the highest SERVICING WSI® scores at new dealerships are listed below, while the average for all brands was 4.12.

1. Mercedes-Benz: 4.74
2. BMW: 4.63
3. Honda: 4.50
4. Lexus: 4.47
5. Buick: 4.25 and GMC: 4.25
6. Toyota: 4.21
7. Subaru 4.20
8. Dodge 4.19
9. Jeep 4.14
10. Chrysler: 4.09
11. Nissan: 4.03
12. Chevrolet: 3.92
13. Volkswagen: 3.89
14. Hyundai : 3.80
15. Ford: 3.70

*Some brands may not be represented in this report due to lack of statistically significant data.

Renee Higgins, Director of E-Commerce at Davis-Moore Auto Group in Wichita, Kansas adds "The service aisle is a prime location for us to build trust with our female customers and assure then we are here to help them solve their automotive problems – not take advantage of them, as is the unfortunate stereotype. At Davis-Moore dealerships our service advisors and technicians are specifically coached on best communication with female customers to both clearly communicate and diagnose their vehicles, but also to build a long term, honest and open relationship."

Room to Improve – Negative Data Trends

To be sure, there is ample opportunity to improve among many brands. The company reported on key findings, including:

• 43% were dissatisfied with their last experience (up from 41% last year)
• 36% didn’t like the way the service advisor spoke to them or the way they were treated (up from 34%)
• 34% said that their problem wasn’t resolved to their satisfaction (up from 33%)
• 20% thought the dealership was lacking in concierge services (improved by 3%)
• 21% said the dealerships hours weren’t convenient
• Just 60% of women receive follow up communication from the dealership (down from 66% last year).

Other highlights in the report showed that 53% of the women reviewers have their vehicle serviced where they originally purchased, whereby 22% of them used another dealership. Of these two groups, 74% plan to use their dealership in the future. With service departments open 56 hours a week compared to an 80 hour average for specialty car repair chains, the number one requested concierge service on the list was courtesy vehicles. Women want to be able to drive home when their vehicle is in the shop overnight or for an extended stay. For more, visit Women-Drivers.com