According to JD Power’s 2017 study, it appears that of all the car brands in the Philippines, Honda owners are the happiest in terms of sales and service. Woohoo!
Honda, or specifically its distributor Honda Cars Philippines Inc. (HCPI), scored a 747 out of 1,000 in the 2017 Philippine Sales Satisfaction Index (SSI) study. This is mostly due to their exceptional Sales Initiation and Sales Personnel. The grade puts them on the #1 spot, beating Toyota (747), Nissan (743), and pretty much everyone else including Isuzu (717) that came dead last.
The industry’s overall satisfaction for sales and delivery, however, has dropped this year. It averaged 740 versus 758 in 2016. The biggest factor for the decline boils down to Dealer Facility.
“Pressure is mounting on dealers to upgrade their existing facilities and/or open new facilities to accommodate the influx of new car buyers,” said Loïc Péan, Senior Manager at JD Power. “Accessibility is a common issue in urban areas, but improvements may also be required within showrooms, such as improving the display of models to offer a better shopping experience as well as the efficient and timely delivery of the vehicle.”
This is followed by Delivery Process where ¾ of respondents said that it took more than 2 hours for their vehicles to be turned over by the dealership. Tsk. Tsk.
When it comes to after-sales service, Honda again ranked highest with a 803 score (out of 1,000) in the 2017 Philippine Customer Service Index (CSI) study. They’re particularly good at Service Quality, Vehicle Pick-up, Service Facility, and Service Advisor it seems. Hyundai (798) and Mitsubishi (797) came in a close 2nd and 3rd, while Nissan (772) was at the bottom of the list.
But much like in sales, there’s nothing worth celebrating when it comes to the industry’s overall score. The average is 793, down from 822 in 2016 where the main culprits lie in Service Initiation and Vehicle Pick-Up.
“The increased time spent handing over the vehicle before service—due to rapidly increasing service volumes—is one of the key reasons for the significant drop in service satisfaction,” Pean commented. “Service networks are not expanding as fast as market demand, which creates challenges for service centers to handle the increasing traffic within a reasonable time—in a very time-conscious market—while also maintaining high-quality service standards.”
Simply put, authorized service centers cannot keep up with the growing number of customers. Not that its a valid excuse…
While the industry concerns itself with its mediocre results, the main focus here should be on Honda Cars Philippines Inc. These men and women did a damn great job at providing good sales and after-sales service to their customers and deserve to be recognized.
So, if you’re wondering what car you should drive next, at least now you know which brand to choose from.
