Toyota, Buick, and Lexus Earn Top Spot in Customer Experience Ratings Amongst Auto Dealers, According to Temkin Group

WABAN, Mass., March 27, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Toyota, Buick, and Lexus dealers deliver the best customer experience in the auto industry, according to the 2014 Temkin Experience Ratings, an annual ranking of companies based on a study of 10,000 U.S. consumers.

These three companies all earned a 74% rating—only narrowly surpassing Subaru—and tied for 59^th place overall out of 268 companies across 19 industries. While this is both Buick's and Lexus's first time evaluated in the Ratings, this is Toyota's second straight year in the top spot.

At the other end of the spectrum, Chrysler tumbled down the rankings from its "okay" rating in 2013 to a "poor" rating this year, finishing as the lowest-ranking auto dealer with a score of 50% and a ranking of 256^th place. Kia and Dodge also declined in the ratings and received "poor" scores of 57% and 55% respectively, both hovering near the bottom of the auto industry rankings for the third year in a row.

"Toyota, Buick, and Lexus dealers are leading the industry-wide effort to become more customer-centric," states Bruce Temkin, managing partner of Temkin Group.

Here are some additional findings from the auto industry:

• The ratings of all auto dealers in the 2014 Temkin Experience Ratings are as follows: Toyota (74%), Buick (74%), Lexus (74%), Subaru (73%), Hyundai (70%), Ford (68%), Honda (67%), Chevrolet (67%), Mercedes-Benz (67%), BMW (65%), Audi (64%), Cadillac (64%), Nissan (63%), Mazda (62%), Volkswagen (61%), GM (61%), Jeep (61%), Kia (57%), Dodge (55%), and Chrysler (50%).
• Hyundai (+6 points), BMW (+5 points), Nissan (+4 points), and Toyota (+3 points) improved their ratings the most between 2013 and 2014.
• Chrysler (-10 points), Dodge (-5 points), and Kia (-1 point) were the only auto dealers whose ratings declined between 2013 and 2014.
• Overall, the auto industry averaged a 66% rating in the 2014 Temkin Experience Ratings and placed 9^th out of 19 industries. It was also one of the 15 industries to improve its rating over the past year, increasing its average by 2.1 percentage points.

Now in its fourth year of publication, the 2014 Temkin Experience Ratings examines the quality of the customer experience delivered by 268 organizations across 19 industries: airlines, appliance makers, auto dealers, banks, car rental agencies, computer makers, credit card issuers, fast food chains, grocery chains, health plans, hotel chains, insurance carriers, Internet service providers, investment firms, parcel delivery services, retailers, software firms, TV service providers, and wireless carriers.

To generate these ratings, Temkin Group asked consumers to evaluate their experiences with a company across three dimensions: functional (can you do what you want to do?), accessible (how easy is it to work with the company?), and emotional (how do you feel about the interactions?). Temkin Group then averaged these three scores to produce a company's Temkin Experience Rating.

In these ratings, a score of 70% or above is considered "good," and a score of 80% or above is considered "excellent."

The 2014 Temkin Experience Ratings, along with other ratings, can be accessed at the Temkin Ratings website, www.TemkinRatings.com.

The free report "2014 Temkin Experience Ratings" is available for download at the Customer Experience Matters^® blog (ExperienceMatters.wordpress.com) and at the Temkin Group website, www.TemkinGroup.com.

About Temkin Group: Temkin Group is widely recognized as a leading customer experience research and consulting firm. Many of the world's largest brands rely on its insights and advice to steer their transformational journeys, and Temkin Group accelerates their results by combining customer experience thought leadership with a deep understanding of organizational dynamics. Rather than layering on cosmetic changes, Temkin Group helps companies embed practices within their culture by building four critical competencies: Purposeful Leadership, Employee Engagement, Compelling Brand Values, and Customer Connectedness. The firm's ongoing research identifies leading and emerging best practices for engaging the hearts and minds of customers, employees, and partners. For more information, contact Bruce Temkin at 617-916-2075 or send an email.

*Customer experience matters is a registered trademark of Temkin Group.

Read more news from the Temkin Group.

SOURCE Temkin Group

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