The recent release of J.D. Power’s 2024 U.S. Customer Service Index (CSI) Study hasn’t been terribly kind to Ford or Lincoln dealers, which ranked below the mass market and premium segment averages, respectively, yet again. This particular study is designed to measure customer satisfaction with service at franchised dealer or aftermarket service facilities after they have had maintenance or repair work performed on their one- to three-year-old vehicles, and in that regard, the overall industry improved by five points year-over-year, while both Ford and Lincoln dealers did manage to follow suit with increases of their own. When it comes to Ford SUV owners, however, the results weren’t great, either.
This year, Ford SUV owners, specifically, helped The Blue Oval finished with a score of 845 out of 1,000 possible points, which was indeed below the mass market segment average of 850, as well as only higher than four other brands – Jeep, Kia, Volkswagen, and Hyundai. Buick actually topped the list with a score of 887, while the rest of Ford’s rivals managed to rank above it and the segment average as well. Notably, Ford’s result in this specific segment is higher than its overall score of 835, but it’s still a bit of a letdown, regardless, as The Blue Oval and other makes continue to struggle with parts and labor shortages that hamper the customer experience.
“It’s encouraging to see an improvement in service satisfaction but, unfortunately, the capacity and wait time issues have gotten progressively worse since the pandemic and show no immediate signs of easing up,” said Chris Sutton, vice president of automotive retail at J.D. Power. “Excluding Tesla owners, the service experience for BEV owners is underwhelming. As sales of BEVs continue to grow and the industry moves out of the early-adopter phase, the typical owner will not be as willing to tolerate a less-than-stellar service and ownership experience. On the manufacturer side, a higher rate of BEV recalls is also contributing to an inconsistent experience. This is an area that automakers and dealers need to address now to help make the transition to electrification as pain-free as possible for owners in the future.”
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Comment
It would be interesting to see how the evaluation categories break.