General Motors Revises Customer Satisfaction Survey
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General Motors is planning to shorten its customer satisfaction survey and to start asking car shoppers to give dealers online ratings and reviews, according to a report from Automotive News. GM has used its current long survey for decades, but reportedly designed the new survey to gather faster, more effective feedback.
Beginning sometime this month, the 4,200 dealerships in GM’s nationwide network of dealers will begin to send out the shorter surveys to their sales and service customers. The surveys, which have fewer than 10 questions on them, will ask participants to rate their dealership experience from one to five stars and write a review to be posted online.
GM’s long survey, which includes about 22 questions, has been criticized in the past for taking a long time to fill out and not being able to match the internet’s ability to quickly post customer experiences and feedback online. The survey is only a pilot right now, but could fully replace the 22-question survey if successful.
More consumers will turn to Google or sites like Yelp first when deciding where to shop. As a result, GM decided to make the switch to an online-based feedback program. The long form surveys will continue to be sent out to customers during the pilot program, AN says, as dealer incentives are based on customer satisfaction scores.
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Want people to complete them and not just brush them aside? Offer a free tire rotation coupon and nitrogen air fill when someone completes the survey.
As a manager at a GM dealership who deals with CSI, I don’t want to have to buy customer’s votes with free stuff like oil changes. Buying completely satisfied surveys does not tell you how your dealership is really doing which is what dealerships need to know in order to get better.
For years dealerships gave out free stuff for a completely satisfied surveys and GM went along doing the same old things and look where that got them. If you want true customer feedback, you can’t buy votes with free stuff.
Our dealership has a service department that is in the top 5-10% of all GM Canadian dealerships and a sales department that isn’t far behind; but we didn’t get that way by buying customer surveys. We took any bad surveys and feedback and used it to get better at what we do and give the customer a better experience to EARN the passing grades.
not saying to buy votes or manipulate results. but there is only a small fraction of people who want to fill out a survey. and most of those people are one the two end of the spectrum – mad or happy. Surveys like this need the majority of people, the middle ground, the ‘meat’, in order to have truly worthwhile results
What dealership are you with, if you don’t mind me asking?
Unfortunately I can’t say which dealership, and this isn’t the place for advertising our dealership either. But I will say we are in the Prairies; the middle of truck country.
I understand what you are saying in that in order to get more back, give out an incentive. Unfortunately that usually leads to either the customer not being honest and giving good scores just to get the gift, or the dealer principal being upset because he is giving away money for failing grades (as the people with issues will always be on the doorstep for their freebie).
Plus sometimes the customer are just that: customer issues and not dealership issues. We had one customer fail us on the survey because his last GM (which didn’t even buy it from us) had 4 issues he thought were inappropriate and GM wouldn’t buy it back and give him a full refund. Of course he didn’t start having any issues until had almost 60,000 kms on it. So the customer failed on us on his new purchase because GM wouldn’t buy his 60,000 km truck back for which he clearly had unrealistic expectations. But I can guarantee you that if we gave out something free for a returned survey, he would have still failed us but still been on our doorstep for a free gift.
It has taken 10+ years to manufacture these parts to insure that their customers do not get into accidents because they had too many keys on the keychain. Awesome response time by one of the GM’s.
Emily, these surveys go out to customer when they either purchase a new vehicle or bring a vehicle which is under the comprehensive warranty in for service or warranty work. Plus this survey has nothing to do with recalls, etc.
It took Ford 6 years to recall a vehicle that was known to catch fire, and even more years to deal with the Ford Explorer/Firestone tire issues. It took Toyota 5 years to recall a known issue last year and 6 years for Honda to do a recall on one of there vehicles with a known safety issue.
It’s unfortunate, but all manufacturers have these issues; usually because one or two particular people make a bad judgement call and decision (usually to save their own necks).
Or, they do not recognize them as a safety item at first.
Back in 2001 the person/group/executive that did nothing about the switch probably had no idea the airbags were unpowered if the key turned off. I would not have known and I have a lot of cross discipline knowledge. The government sure did not know but they are looking into it now. And it sounds like it is not typical to have the airbags controlled by the key.
But we will have to wait for the report to get the story. Lot of Monday morning criticism out there before the facts are in.
What are they going to call the survey? Rate your scrap? Thumb her down boys!
In all the years I have owned a GM vehicles, I have never received a survey to ask what I thought of the car itself. I realize that is what clinics are supposed to do, but the ownership experience is far more relevant. Yes to correct or redesign a flaw is not simple, but at least some comments may have relevance for future vehicles in the pipeline.
People want to know how to hurt a bad dealer? Fill out the damn survey on any service appointment. A good one helps the good dealers and a bad one will penalize the dealer in discounts etc. that GM can enforce within the Federal Trade Commission guide lines.
This is something that is very important to the good dealers so make sure to fill these out good or bad.
If you do not fill them out do not complain about a bad dealer.
I am very disappointed with the cheezy fix on the ignition.
It is not what i had when i paid for it.
I wonder how much it depreciated the value of the car since it is not stock no more. (Cheesy after market key)
At least i could be warned what kind of fix it is going to be and have a choice in the matter.
Now I have keys banging on the column which is plastic (That is going scar up very quickly)
I feel I supported GMwhen they were bailed out and I also bought two car in the last three years.
I was planning on changing my present car in a couple of years (Maybe the 50th anniversary)
But if this is how you treat yourcustomers maybe I should look into getting a Challenger or Mustang.
I would hate to have you fix any other problems
Faulty door latch= Bungee cord?
Hood or trunk latch= brick on the hood?
Sagging body panel= Duct tape?
Well I will be the first to agree they don’t make things like they use to.But that goes from furniture,parts on washing machines,etc.But I have owned Chevrolets my whole life.We are all human,in manmade machines.I am not going to blame or point a finger or down grade Chevrolet,because they are having recalls.Thank goodness they have found the “Fault”
I would like to receive a custormer satisfaction survey. Thanks.
Ronneill Mierr at Fairway Chevrolet on Sahara ave. in Las Vegas Nv can teach ALL GM reps a thing or two about customer service and getting customers to fill out satisfaction surveys. That guy is a MAJOR ASSET. Big Bosses at GM and Chevy seriously need to get Ronneill to share his servicing and marketing “mojo”. If I ever deal with some one at Chevy it will be Mr.Mierr
Are these customer surveys private?or does the dealer know how you rated them?
Why would anyone risk telling the truth if the dealership was sketchy. Who would risk getting rippednoff… ticked off more by giving a bad rating to a felaership knowi g full well ypu will need to go there for parts.. work.. service etc.
The dealers get them back which is a good thing because how else would a dealer know where they need to improve and which individuals need to improve. If a dealer is treating you bad, find another dealer as there are GM dealers everywhere. The best way to hurt a bad dealer is taking your business elsewhere.
As for those who say they should give out free stuff if you send one back, an unhappy customer will ALWAYS send one back. Why would a happy customer not take the five minutes to give a good dealer a good survey?
I want to fill one out it prob will be the worst one that have ever seen.. I love my truck just not happy at all with the way I am being treated I can promise I will never do business with that dealership ever again… The lies and the way I have been treated in general is a bunch of crap.. The sales manager laughing behind my back where I can here him along with one of his sales men.. When you spend the money to buy a new or even used vehical they need to treat you like a person not like a $ sign .. Be honest with your customer.. I will be respectful on here and not say what dealership it was .. I don’t want freebies just want to be treated right
Would like General Motors to send me another customer survey on paper, so I can tell the experience I received recently with the purchase of my new 2016 Silverado , I am a very dissatisfied customer! With Terry Cullen Chevrolet! 63Tawoliga Lake Dr. Monroe County 30233 ASAP
Why dont you reach out to GM directly and not an independent blog?
Also if you issue is a dealer specific problem, GM cant do much about it. Dealerships are self managed franchises (Tesla is trying to change that system).
If you issue is vehicle related the best thing you can do ahort term is have a GM Customer Service person CCd on your email correspondence with the dealership to help mediate a solution to your problem.
What is the issue anyways?
I have driven GM cars my whole life – about 10 years ago I switched to Lincoln. I recently decided to go back to GM and purchase my first Cadillac! Unfortunately after being told the car I purchased was built and through quality control being provided a shipping date for it to arrive no later than a date that was a week ago, I cannot get any information from GM why the car is not shipping (Its sitting in a parking lot at the factory). Whats worse is my dealer (who has been great to work with) cannot get ANY information as to why it is not shipping or when it might ship – I am cancelling my order and heading g back to my Lincoln dealer for the new Lincoln Continental. Cadillac I thought you cherished your brand and your customer experience – you have a long was to go
Dave, sorry to hear about your delayed Cadillac. But if your dealer gave you a guaranteed before X date, I’d be asking for an explanation of the guaranteed date from them. There are many things that affect the build cycle of a vehicle and all manufacturers face the same issues (a good friend and Ford loyalists is currently 3 weeks past estimated date on his Lincoln):
1. Just because you factory ordered through a dealer doesn’t mean it gets hit for production right away. That dealer’s orders are not selected until the dealer has allocation for your specific model. Allocation cycles are usually every 1-2 weeks and based on a dealer’s previous sales volumes. If your dealer had no allocation for a cycle or two, that delays your build.
2. The manufacture relies on a hundred different suppliers for the parts going into your vehicle and if just ONE of those suppliers has an issue at THEIR factory and can’t supply a part, that delays your build cycle. Every time there’s an earthquake or Tsunami in Japan many vehicle builds are delayed for example.
3. Once selected for production, a build week is given which is usually 1-3 weeks later. If that plant builds more than one platform of vehicle (Impala plant also built the Express vans), your build may be delayed a bit until your model is scheduled down the line.
4. Once built, if there is a quality issue or if a recall/bulletin was announced for your model, it may be set aside until repaired. If the part isn’t available for a while, it will be shipped and the dealer MUST hold the vehicle until the repair is available to be done.
5. Once through quality, GM puts on their system that it is ready to ship. The next update tells us when it has been shipped. The time in-between is spent at the impound/yard waiting to be loaded. If delayed, it is the rail company causing the issue. These days rail companies stock pile vehicles at loading yards until they have a full train or at least half a full train of automotive rail cars because it is easier and faster to delivery an entire train or majority section of train to the unloading yard rather than having to split up a train multiple times for a rail car here and there. Plus this is the time of year rail companies are moving massive amounts of grain from the Northern US and Canadian harvests which also gets priority over automobiles (governments pressure rail companies to move grain as a priority).
Good luck with your Lincoln but I’m guessing you’d be enjoying your Cadillac long before a freshly ordered Lincoln.
Thank you for your reply. To clarify the dealership kept me apprised along the way exactly as you outlined (they have been awesome!) My frustration is the dealership got an invoice for the ct6 on Oct 20 with “an expiration in transit of 10/31” Now we sit here on Nov 5 and when the dealership calls to follow uparking they are told “it’s sitting in the yard waiting for pickup” I called cadillac yesterday and after being on the phone 42 min speaking with 3 different reps I got the same exact answer. There was NO ONE who could provide ANY information why it has been sitting in the yard for now almost 3 weeks. This is all about managing expectations of your buyer and being able to communicate delays beyond what is ordinarily expected (the dealer has even conveyed this is not typical). My comment to go.to Lincoln was to purchase off the lot, not order. I could as easily purchase another ct6 off the lot but my hesitation is the lack of communication and support Cadillac has with its dealers. Even your reply to me insinuated the dealer miss lead me which was far from the truth! I am somewhat uncomfortable with a company who throws their dealers under the bus and FAILS to communicate answers to reasonable questions asked by them that are outside what is typically expected. The truth is i would love to get the Ct6 but my lease is up Maybe you have some authority to get an answer? My order # is TQDQWP – but I have come to expect you will have the same answer we have been getting which is no answer – hopefully you will surprise me.
I was sold a car on a trade in with a credit score of 730 at the time of this sale. A month and half after driving off the lot with the GMC, I was told the company they financed through did not accept and that they had a new company who would. However, that company did not accept either so I told them I would bring the vehicle back and take my trade in. Little did I know, the entire month, GMC Charlotte on South Blvd were running my credit through the ground trying to find any bank who would finance. Numerous banks were contacted without my permission, running my credit down in the 500’s. So, after a month and half of driving the GMC, it became apparent that my monthly notes on my trade were not getting paid. Not only did GMC abuse my credit, I am behind on my car payments on the car I wanted to trade in because the financing did not go through and I was not informed until a month and half after. I called the Manager of GMC South Blvd Charlotte (Justin Nash) and he was extremely rude. He gave me the impression that he would look into the matter to find out what his sales people did wrong but instead contacted me to let me know that their end was covered on screwing me so I was free to take whatever measures I liked. GMC is an awful company that will abuse the little guys for a sale. I am an honest hard working American that pride myself on my credit and my hardwork. I am currently in a crazy financial down spiral around the holidays all due to GMC. I have no money to pay my rent, my credit score is down and all Justin Nash had to say was “have a great weekend”. How dare they!
Let me say this about General Motors, my husband and I bought a brand new Gmc Sierra within 300 miles the drive shaft came apart in 3 pieces leaving a dent in the side of the truck and leaving us on the side of the road!! It is towed to the dealer where they fix the drive shaft, and in case you didn’t know they are made of aluminum and card board!! So it is at the dealer for a good week or longer, pick the truck up it has a huge dent where the drive shaft came out so back to the dealer it goes. We pick the truck up in less than a week we are broke down on the side of the road again the rear end, ring and pinion is going out!! Towed to the dealer once again in the shop for almost 2 weeks this time!! So we get the truck back and yes you guessed it we go to leave our sons basketball game and guess what? It is pouring transmission fluid, smoking, and leaves us on the side of the road again!! We can get no help or Service!!! General Motors IS the worst in my opinion!! Now let me say this we drove a GMC truck before we bought this one. We have practically only owned GM vehicles. We happened to get the luck of the draw and get a “lemon” truck. The main thing I am upset about is not getting and assistance or help out of Gm when this truck will never be fixed or never be like a new truck again and we haven’t even got to enjoy it!!! You would think they would take care of their customers and when something is wrong and continues to be wrong they would go out of their way to make it right!!! Don’t bother ever calling their executive office toll free number and opening a case it is a waste of your time I promise!!!! They can not give you answers or help they resolve to get the vehicle “repaired” lol. Well this vehicle obviously is going to continue to have problems and is not going to stay “repaired” and I am sick of driving a brand new truck that is falling apart.
General Motor recalls seem to be designed to get more money out the customer. Especially if you take your vehicle to Ray Dennison Chevrolet in Pekin, IL. I got a recall for “involuntary key rotation”. I took my keys in to Ray Dennison Chevrolet to get the recall done. They were supposed to add some plastic to the key. I was told that it was not necessary to bring the car in. I had never had a problem with the keys and turning the ignition until they cut the new keys. Today I went back to Ray Dennison Chevrolet only to be talked down to by a member of the service department as though I was not smart enough to know how to turn the ignition switch. Then I was told that the reason it was difficult to turn the ignition was because it was wore out, and the reason it was difficult to unlock the door with the key was because the lock was not used enough. So which is it, wore out or not used enough? However, I was told that they will work with me on the cost of installing a new ignition switch and recoding it to my key. Why should I pay for a problem that I did not have until Ray Dennison Chevrolet did the recall? Sounds like a way to extort money out of customers. So if you should happen to get a recall from General Motors DO NOT TAKE IT TO RAY DENNISON CHEVROLET, it will only cost you money to fix what they messed up. This is my opinion of the service and disrespect that I got from Ray Dennison Chevrolet. I am a certified automotive technician and feel I was treated disrespectfully simply due to the fact that I was a women and my vehicle was not brand new..
For the GM service satisfaction survey. I was very satisfied on efficiency a professional
Job from your service advisor Andrew and technician Jesse A McMahon.
Lawrence Phillip done a beautiful job he work hard to put my mom and I in a new car 2017 he has such a beautiful personality I would go to him again buy my car thankyou Lawrence Phillip.