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GM Blows Away Competition In Latest J.D. Power Customer Service Index Study
by Manoli Katakis
Posted February 25th, 2010 at 4:37 pm

With the proverbial hammer having dropped on Hummer just yesterday, it’s somewhat refreshing to discover that GM’s brands, both “core” and discontinued, have the very best to offer in customer service according to the most recent J.D. Power and Associates Customer Service Index study.

In the “Mass Market Brands” category, GM dealers beamed with customer satisfaction – taking six out of the top seven spots. Ironically – Hummer took first place with a score of 815. The scores were based on a scale of 1,000. Following Hummer is the now-discontinued Saturn with 808 points. Buick came in third with 805 and Chevy took fourth wit 787. The euthanized Pontiac scored 785 (sixth) while GMC got 783 (seventh). All GM brands rated well above the industry average of 758 while PR afflicted Toyota came in eighteenth with 741 points.

In the Luxury Brand category, Cadillac finished second with a score of 827, following Lexus in the rankings. The average score was 813 for the category. Of note – (now Spyker-owned) Saab fell short of that average with a score of 796, followed by Audi, Porsche, Infiniti, and Volvo.

Experts say that most of the improvements may be attributed to lower foot traffic volumes of dealers, but it’s great to see GM brands doing so well in this nation-wide study. We have the full press release, along with J.D. Power images, right after the jump!

[Source: J.D. Power and Associates] (more…)

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The Arbitration Proclamation: GM Moves Dealer Disputes To Top Priority
by Manoli Katakis
Posted February 19th, 2010 at 2:01 pm

1,160 GM dealers who have filed for arbitration will certainly be delighted to hear that GM North America President Mark Reuss claims to have their franchises restored in two months’ time, well before the June deadline.

The obvious logic, according to Reuss, is that (dealers) “are the most important interface we have with customers.” The cold truth is quiet simple – dealers must give the best service in the business in order to both sell products and retain customers for The General.

Though the news is good, GM has yet to disclose an estimate of the overall cost of the arbitration process for all involved dealers. More as it happens on this very topic at GM Authority’s arbitration proclamation!

[Source: Freep | Image: South Florida Lawyers]

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GM Volt: Hey Buddy, The Line Starts Back There!!! Well Not Really…
by Hylton Jorssen
Posted February 16th, 2010 at 4:44 pm

Yesterday, we reported on a recent interview by Chevrolet Brand Director Jim Campbell in which he discussed how Chevrolet will manage the supply-demand pressures of the new Volt when it comes to market. Part of the solution is to roll out the Volt in three initial markets: California, Michigan and Washington, DC (which sounds like a political move more than a marketing one to me). In any event, a staggered introduction to market may indeed help manage the initial demand for the Volt, but what would you say if I told you that the first customers to plunk down a deposit in those initial launch states will not necessarily be the first to drive the car home?

As absurd as this may sound, this is exactly what will happen. You see, behind the roll-out of any model lies a process used by GM called Dealer Allocation. Dealer Allocation is quite simply the number of units of a particular model a dealer will be able to acquire (and thus sell) in a given period of time. This number is usually formulated based on a combination of things. With respect to the Volt, I believe the allocation criteria will be formulated on the three following attributes: overall dealer performance, dealer sales of GM hybrid vehicles, and Toyota Prius sales in the area. (more…)

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Wows And Woes: Whitacre – GM To Call Up 100 Defunct Dealerships. Saab Given The Cold Shoulder.
by Erik Bentley
Posted January 19th, 2010 at 7:00 am

Earlier in 2009, GM announced plans to shut down 1,130 GM dealerships, a process it was hoping to complete by the fourth quarter of 2010. This “cutting the fat” can be attributed to the rocky economy and poor performance of some of the dealers that received the wind-down notice. Certain dealers complained (which was to be expected), leading GM to devise a plan that ultimately lead to arbitration. Well, it looks like there’s light at the end of the tunnel for a select few dealers.

In an interview, GM’s interim CEO and Chairman Ed Whitacre revealed that The General would in fact give a second chance to roughly one hundred dealerships that were told to pack up and go home. He stated that the methods used by GM to determine which dealerships would be resurrected (and which ones would not) were “pretty arbitrary,” and that they were “not perfect in every way.”

The arbitration rules put forth by law call for interested dealers to provide notice by Janurary 25, 2010. A judgment by way of arbitration would then be made sometime in June of 2010, ultimately sealing the fate of many dealership owners. On a positive note, Big Ed mentioned that – regardless of the number of dealerships that receive the OK to re-open – GM bean counters predict profitability in 2010. Now that gives us reason to breathe a big sigh of relief!

Whitacre also reminded reporters that Saab is still for sale and that anyone who wanted to buy the Swedish brand should just “show up with the money.”

Sounds tempting…anyone want to go half-zies?

For continuing coverage of GM’s Saab Sales Saga, dealer relations, and all things General Motors be sure to check in to GM Authority as often as humanly possible!

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Sweet And Sour: GM Offers Remodeling Perks To Dealerships – With A Twist
by Erik Bentley
Posted January 10th, 2010 at 9:55 pm

By now you’ve probably heard that GM is on the rebound: it’s putting out the best product on the market, cutting costs, and slowly but surely dealing with dealers. Moreover, a somewhat stabilized economy and the elimination of excess fat from the automaker’s sides have all helped to strengthen The General and build what promises to be a stronger and more efficient automaker, a move supported by many. As part of this rebound, GM is offerring something very special to its existing dealerships – the ability to remodel the stores while GM will help with the tab! That’s right, General Motors has offered to pay for the remodeling of GM’s dealerships throughout the United States. Unfortunately for dealership owners, however, there is a large and somewhat ridiculous catch – so ridiculous, in fact, that I would bet that most dealerships will not even take advantage of this offer.

For one, any dealerships that offer customers alternate brands must remove those makes from any area where a GM brand is sold. The second, and probably the most offensive details in the offer, is the time frame in which GM will actually pay the dealership back. It has been reported that the payback period will vary between 5-10 years!

Are they kidding? The dealerships that were lucky enough to actually make it through GM’s bankruptcy are now trying their best to tread dark and dangerous waters, hoping they won’t receive one of those letters from GM stating that they will no longer receive support from the mothership. And now, all of a sudden, GM expects them to shell out some money to remodel in the hope that they see it back in five to ten years from now?

If you ask me, the dealerships could put that money towards other matters and recoup the expenses in a shorter period of time.

Of course, only time will tell whether the dealers will take advantage of this offer or laughingly walk away.

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Good To Know: GM Committed To Participating In Professional Arbitration With Dealers
by Alex Luft
Posted January 9th, 2010 at 12:00 pm

After the roller coaster ride that’s become the Saab sale dealer closure process, GM wanted to reassure all involved of its commitment to the process. Since this one is straight and to-the-point, we’ll let you read it as GM intended:

GM is committed to participating in a professional, effective arbitration process for Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac dealers who received a complete or partial wind-down agreement and want to file for reinstatement. We are working within the procedures of Section 747 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2010 (H.R. 3288). GM will provide dealers covered by the statute with a letter that explains why they received a wind-down agreement by Jan. 15, and all decisions regarding reinstatement will be completed within six months.

There’s nothing here that we didn’t already know, but sometimes it’s nice to throw in some reassurance for good measure; in fact, it’s kind of like your special someone telling you the three magic words, even though you already knew it.

What three magic words? We’ll let you be the judge of that!

[Source: GM]

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The Recipe: How GM Will Deal With Shuttered Dealers’ Complaints And Prevent Legislation
by Alex Luft
Posted December 4th, 2009 at 4:01 pm
Back in May, General Motors announced plans to shut down a sizable portion of its dealer network (from here-on termed wind-down dealers). This, of course, coincided with GM’s announcement of either shrinking, selling, or closing its Saab, Hummer, Pontiac, and Saturn brands. As you would expect, some dealerships filed complaints to both, The General itself and relevant policy makers.

In recent months, these complaints have prompted Washington to consider passing legislation on how GM is allowed to handle the closing of these dealerships. In trying to avoid all possible legislation (we know how messy that can get), GM has been actively preparing a plan that will deal with the dealerships in question, and today it has released a plan, which calls for the following:
- GM will provide all dealerships that received a complete wind-down agreement the criteria it used in selecting said dealerships.
- For complete wind-down dealers that have not already terminated their sales and service agreements with GM, a face-to-face review process will be called for.
- If the dealer is not satisfied with the outcome of the face-to-face review process, they may choose to proceed to binding arbitration, which will be strictly limited to “whether GM selected the dealer to receive the wind-down agreement on the basis of its business criteria.”
Barring any complications (read: opposition and related legislation), GM will begin to implement this plan in mid-January. To further emphasize its lack of desire for any legislation, GM is of the opinion that its plan “offers a more certain and timely process and the appropriate alternative to address dealer concerns especially compared to proposed legislation that would raise a variety of legal and constitutional concerns.”

GM’s plan also includes provisions for actively trying to increase the diversity of its dealer body as well as placement assistance for service technicians and other dealership employees.

Click past the break for complete details of GM’s plan to address dealer concerns. (more…)
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