Customer Satisfaction Surveys in Automotive Repair: A Mixed Bag of Practices

Introduction

Customer satisfaction is the backbone of any successful business, and the automotive repair industry is no different. Knowing what your customers think about your service can provide invaluable insights into areas of strength and those that require improvement. But just how many shops actually take this to heart by conducting customer satisfaction surveys? We decided to survey automotive repair technicians to find out.

Survey Methodology

To explore the prevalence and importance of customer satisfaction surveys in automotive repair shops, we conducted a survey with our over 225k strong Instagram community, focusing on the question: “Does your shop do customer satisfaction surveys on all completed repairs?” Respondents could choose from the following options: ‘Yes – on all’, ‘Sometimes’, ‘None’, and ‘Don’t Know’.

Survey Results

The findings indicate a varied approach among shops:

– Yes – on all: 40%

– Sometimes: 11%

– None: 33%

– Don’t Know: 16%

Analysis

Committed to Customer Feedback – 40%

The 40% of shops that conduct customer satisfaction surveys after every repair represent an industry best practice. These businesses are actively committed to gauging customer feedback, which often leads to service improvement and customer retention.

The Casual Approach – 11%

The 11% that sometimes conduct surveys likely see the value but may not have formalized the process. For these businesses, implementing a more consistent feedback system could offer more comprehensive data for business decisions.

Missed Opportunities – 33%

Surprisingly, 33% of the respondents indicated that their shops do not conduct customer satisfaction surveys. This could potentially be a missed opportunity to gather important data that could help in refining their services.

The Unknown Factor -16%

The 16% who were unsure if their shop conducts customer satisfaction surveys reflect a lack of internal communication within those businesses. Knowing whether or not customer feedback is collected should be common knowledge among all employees, given its importance.

Implications for Businesses

1. Standardizing Feedback Processes: If your shop is among the 11% that ‘Sometimes’ conduct surveys, consider standardizing this to ‘always’. You’ll gather more reliable data this way.

2. Open the Communication Channels: If employees don’t know whether the business values customer feedback, that’s a problem. Make sure to communicate internally about the practices and importance of customer satisfaction surveys.

3. Valuable Insights: For the 33% not conducting surveys, understand that you are potentially missing out on insights that could lead to better customer retention and service improvement.

4. Competitive Advantage: With 40% of shops making it a standard practice, those not doing so are falling behind and missing out on a chance to gain a competitive edge.

Conclusion

The survey results indicate that while a significant portion of automotive repair shops understand the importance of customer satisfaction surveys, there is still room for improvement. Failure to consistently gauge customer satisfaction can result in missed opportunities for service refinement, customer retention, and long-term success. For shops that haven’t yet adopted this practice, the call to action is clear: Start paying attention to your customers’ voices; they are the most valuable resource for improvement and growth in today’s competitive marketplace.

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For more insights and information related to the automotive repair industry, particularly how technicians feel about key issues and opportunities – stay tuned to our blog at CmySkills.com, join the conversation on our Facebook Auto Technician forum and follow us on our rapidly growing groups on Instagram, TikTok and LinkedIn

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*This post is part of our ongoing series exploring trends and issues in the automotive industry. Stay tuned for more!*