Cadillac just scored a second-place finish among luxury brands in the recent 2020 J.D. Power’s 2020 Customer Service Index study.
The study examined “customer satisfaction with service at a franchised dealer or independent service facility for maintenance or repair work among owners and lessees of one- to three-year-old vehicles.”
The study collected responses from 71,286 verified registered owners and lessees of 2017 to 2019 model-year vehicles. The responses were collected between August and December of 2019, and looked at a number of different factors, including the service facility, service quality, service initiation, the service advisor, and vehicle pick-up. Based on the responses collected, each brand was awarded a numerical score, with a possible 1,000 points up for grabs.
Cadillac achieved score of 882, placing it in second-place in terms of customer satisfaction. Meanwhile, Lexus scored first with a score of 889 points. Interestingly, Cadillac was tied for second place with Porsche, which also scored 882 points. Infiniti took up a spot in third place with 875 points, while Lincoln got fourth overall with 872 points, and Mercedes-Benz scored fifth with 865 points.
“Performing work right the first time is the most critical activity for service satisfaction, and dealers now do a good job by successfully competing work 94 percent of the time,” said J.D. Power’s vice president of U.S. automotive retail practice, Chris Sutton.
Sutton also addressed parts availability in the face of production shutdowns overseas due to the novel coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. “Under normal circumstances, 20 percent of the work that isn’t completed the first time is due to parts being unavailable, which is a source of frustration for customers. That 20 percent could dramatically increase due to parts suppliers’ extended shutdowns in China and other locations. When parts are unavailable, customer satisfaction and intended loyalty significantly decline.”
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This post was written in collaboration with our sister publication, Cadillac Society.
Comments
When I had my ATS 3.6 every time I went to the dealer the svc rep told/asked me to give them 5’s on everything, “I’d really appreciate it and its how we’re graded”.. I mostly did even though the cust svc at the Cadillac dealer was pathetic. That said I’ve had Mercedes for years and they never, ever ask/tell me this tale… I’ve owned both and there is no question that Mercedes is light years ahead… I really don’t believe this even though its JD Power..
So you rated them a 5 even though you didn’t think they provided that level of service. What’s the logic in that?
If it’s as bad as you always claim, why not rate it appropriately so they can make the corrections that you expect. Or are you making it up that you even have a Cadillac and have visited a Cadillac service center?
Hey Dill Weed… temper your tone… I was helping the individual so put a cork in your pie hole… Cadillac Customer Service STINKS, take my word for it as you don’t have one, never had one, and cant afford one… cool?
I don’t think GMC “Dill Weed” Fan is the one who needs to temper his tone around here, xjug.
As far as your experience goes (not questioning it happened, by the way), I don’t know how you were actually helping the individual by giving him and his team ratings he, and they, didn’t deserve. If you really wanted to help him, you’d be straight with your ratings and encourage better customer and vehicle service. What incentive do they have to get better if you’re giving them 5’s every time they ask? That’s not helping them, its not helping you, and frankly, its harming future customers with a lesser service product. It’s like giving your kid a cookie every time he screams.
Lastly, I agree with Ci2Eye below in saying that I don’t think this practice is exclusive to Cadillac. Before you say otherwise, yes, I own one, so I have some background like you. Our local Audi dealership is terrible with this…the Cadillac dealer is not known for this at all. It depends on the individual dealer, not the brand. I’ve been perfectly satisfied with Cadillac customer service myself, regardless of you not being satisfied with your dealer.
If I’m not mistaking, the “survey” he’s speaking about would be the internal one GM uses to rate it’s dealers. Not even close to the survey JDP would send and they are talking about in this article. Two very different things.
And as a person who has worked at dealerships (Buick, Cadillac, GMC and Honda at one, Chevrolet for a short while, Cadillac stand alone dealer and now a Volvo/Mazda store), I can tell you that all dealerships do this type of thing.
Based on that attitude, I hit the nail on the head that you don’t have a Cadillac. And you’re the one who can’t afford one.
Enjoy your fantasies… GMC Guy…
Everything Xjug writes is made up. He supposedly knows about or has had every brand of General Motors automobile.
The Chinese like name says it all, Lol!
xjung,
I’m not sure that practice is exclusive to any brand. My GMC dealer and BMW dealer all hound me for “all Fives” as if their life depends on it. The BMW dealer has a note that says if I can’t give them all Fives to see the Service Manager immediately.
I’m not going to lie and say they delivered something they didn’t but I don’t want to get someone in trouble just for delivering acceptable (but not exceptional) service so I just never answer the phone or respond to the emails to take the survey.
My GMC dealer is generally good as is the BMW dealer although they do pamper me more as you would expect. Generally though neither one is perfect and I seldom feel they’ve delivered a perfect service experience. What’s wrong with a world where good isn’t good enough? Usually, I could in good conscious give them a rating of Four but they don’t want that so I just don’t respond.
My Buick dealership does good work, charges a fair price, and gets the car back to me in a reasonable amount of time. I’m going to give them 5 stars all the way down. Anything else would require me actually reading the survey.
I had a rear seat foam imperfection caused by a roof rack that was stored in my vehicle when I took delivery last fall. The Buick manager was honest and pointed it out and we agreed to wait and see if the foam would fix it self. After a couple months it was the same and I scheduled service for the following month. When service time came for some reason they were not able to get it done in one day along with an oil change, and there was some spots of oil on the engine cover. When the survey came I gave honest ratings including them having to keep my vehicle overnight. I am sure they didn’t appreciate the rating but got it done right the next time!
Unless you’ve had a Mercedes I honestly don’t think you know what the experience is like, I didn’t. GM in general does most things poorly and this is one reason JDN tried to improve Cadillac dealer performance, it was a substantial priority but with his dismissal that’s dead. My ATS frequently came back dirtier than when I took it in and Mercedes ALWAYS have loaners whereas my Cadillac dealer had one only if I scheduled it weeks ahead when it worked for them. I’m no prima Donna but Cadillac dealers are arrogant and IMO don’t care…
Unless you’ve been to at least 7 or 8 dealers of both Mercedes or Cadillac, your personal experience with your particular Mercedes and Cadillac dealers forms no basis for you to judge the entire dealer network of either nameplate. You keep acting like because your one particular Cadillac dealer is bad, they all are bad, and it’s a company-wide problem…which it isn’t. Likewise, you can’t say all Mercedes are better because your one dealer is better. My local Cadillac dealership is damn good on all fronts, but you don’t see me here saying that ALL Cadillac dealers are damn good, because mine is just one dealer out of thousands.
You need to realize that dealerships are individual entities, and just because one you go to is bad, that doesn’t mean they all are. And honestly, even if we wanted to judge entire brand dealerships, this study says Cadillac dealers in general are well above average – what sources do you have, besides “mine personally sucks?” What you needed to do was buy from a new dealer, since you couldn’t rate them properly anyway.
Your comments are your own… why would JDN try to overhaul the dealer network as extensively and focused on Customer Svc if it didn’t need it. Suppose that was GM wasting time and money, which they do very well?
No the local dealer (and the Cad dealers in my town were all in the burbs, none in the main city area where there is vast and extensive wealth and other lux dealers – BMW, MB, Jag, LR, Bentley, RR – dealers need to be where the customers and the $$ is… ) was pathetic so I went to another and it was equally bad, very arrogant, so more than one but 2 should be enough. My opinion is based on MY experience and getting crappy svc from 2 dealers won’t make me want to go to a 3rd. Suppose I need, as a customer, to cut these idiots some slack and drive all over creation to ensure my car is washed when I pick it up? It ALWAYS was at Mercedes and every single MB dealer is a pleasant experience.
You idiots think I want to bust on Cad Cust Svc? I would like Cad to be the greatest vehicle and experience out there but it isn’t and GM knows it, Reuss recently stated it.
I don’t need to realize anything, EVERY dealer needs to ensure great svc to every customer every time, its not up to me. And every customer is different so THEY need to be chameleons and adapt to their audience. You people jumping to the defense of this company are really ridiculous… you’d think YOU work there and that makes your opinions skewed so mine is infinitely more valid.
“No the local dealer…was pathetic so I went to another and it was equally bad, very arrogant, so more than one but 2 should be enough.”
– Funny how you never mentioned this before? Why leave it out, interestingly, until AFTER I said one dealer isn’t enough? Its really starting to look like you actually ARE making things up to support your first comment.
“Suppose I need, as a customer, to cut these idiots some slack and drive all over creation to ensure my car is washed when I pick it up?”
– You mean like how you were more than willing to cut them slack by giving them all 5-star ratings when they clearly didn’t deserve it? You mean like that? Why the sudden change of heart? YOU hold the power as the customer…if you wanted better service, you should have DEMANDED IT, instead of falling into the fetal position when they asked you to rate them. What did you honestly expect??
“It ALWAYS was at Mercedes and every single MB dealer is a pleasant experience.”
– Then what you SHOULD have done was told your Cadillac dealer you were taking your business elsewhere, and stuck with Mercedes. And then you should have alerted other potential customers about their shortcomings by writing a review. But, again, you decided to give them all 5 stars instead, to help them out, supposedly? I can’t for the life of me figure out why their service didn’t improve after that…
“You idiots think I want to bust on Cad Cust Svc? I would like Cad to be the greatest vehicle and experience out there..”
– Why the name-calling? Calm down. If you really wanted that, you’d have pressed for better service at your dealer, which you didn’t.
“EVERY dealer needs to ensure great svc to every customer every time, its not up to me. And every customer is different so THEY need to be chameleons and adapt to their audience.”
– Totally agree. Which is why I am 100% satisfied with my local Cadillac dealership, because they ensure excellent service for their customers. And according to JD Power, that’s the case for most Cadillac dealers…more than Mercedes. Yes, it sucks that you had bad experiences with your dealership, but 1.) that doesn’t mean they all suck like yours, and they clearly don’t, even if you refuse to admit it, and 2.) for someone who did absolutely nothing to improve your own dealer, but instead acquiesced to their requests for ratings they didn’t deserve, you have arguably the least standing out of all of their customers to come here and complain. Yes or yes?
“You people jumping to the defense of this company are really ridiculous…”
– Not jumping to their defense at all. We’re simply defending using actual LOGIC to reach conclusions. And its not logical for someone who went to a bad dealership, and told them how great they were even though they weren’t, to judge the entire dealership network off his own limited experiences…especially when JD Power studies say the exact opposite.
well you sure put me in my place didn’t you… perhaps go back to your study hall now if your High School isn’t on Corona-Break. I don’t have time to cut and paste your entire novel… that said glad you had a great experience… At least they have one customer who is delighted. Their vehicles are barely competitive so you are a satisfied customer. So what do you drive if I might ask?
You don’t win Silver. You lose Gold.
Captain Carl
Lexus = Golden Years
Cadillac, Porsche = Silver Fox
Infiniti = Bronzer
I used to live in CA and always received very good customer service at the Cadillac dealer I frequented. I did have a bad experience with a Cadillac dealer once almost 20 years ago. But since there are a lot of choices in the LA area I never went back. Now that I’m in AZ I’ll have to say that the local Cadillac dealer here is nothing short of exceptional. They’ve been awarded “Best new car Dealer” for years now. This is one of the many categories that the general public in our community can vote on every year. Always feel like I get the VIP treatment there. BTW, I’ve never been asked to give high scores for customer service at any GM dealer.