Lexus Australia wins top customer satisfaction award
BY TERRY MARTIN | 5th Mar 2012
The awards are based on ratings from Roy Morgan’s ‘single source’ survey of approximately 50,000 Australian consumers conducted throughout the year, as well as the research firm’s ‘business single source’ survey of around 22,000 business decision-makers annually.
Lexus was decreed the ‘2011 Car Manufacturer of the Year’ after achieving the most number of months during 2011 – five – with either the outright or equal-best customer satisfaction ranking.
Volvo was close behind, with four top monthly rankings, while Honda was next best with three, then Mercedes-Benz and Subaru each with two (including ties).
Lexus Australia chief executive Tony Cramb said the award “proved the brand’s reputation for delivering what its customers wanted in a vehicle”.
“Lexus places great emphasis on keeping its customers satisfied by producing vehicles that are rewarding to drive and enjoyable to own,” he said.
“As part of the Lexus ownership experience, we strive to ensure that every customer feels as though they are a guest in our home, no matter the type of Lexus vehicle.”Lexus customer service initiatives include ‘premium ticketing’ for special events and an ‘Encore’ program in which dealer staff collect and return loan vehicles for customers while their car is being serviced.
To be eligible for a Roy Morgan award – which covers 35 categories across retail, banking and insurance, superannuation, tourism and travel, supermarkets and other industries – an organisation’s product or service must be included in its single-source surveys and have a minimum sample size.
Roy Morgan Research senior account manager automotive, Jordan Pakes, told GoAuto that the company interviews approximately 42,000 drivers of almost all automotive brands each year.
Each driver is asked how satisfied they are with their current vehicle, based on a scale of ‘very satisfied’, ‘fairly satisfied’, ‘neither satisfied nor dissatisfied’, ‘fairly dissatisfied’ and ‘very dissatisfied’.
Results from those who were ‘very’ and ‘fairly’ satisfied are combined and calculated as a percentage of total customers.
At the awards presentation event in Melbourne last week, Roy Morgan Research CEO Michele Levine said: “Customer satisfaction is more vital than ever in today’s age of social media, where the slightest negative customer interaction can literally be broadcast to thousands, virtually instantly.
“The Roy Morgan Customer Satisfaction Awards have been presented to those businesses in Australia who are leading their individual fields when it comes to satisfying their customers.
“Roy Morgan Research has over 70 years’ experience in collecting objective, independent information on consumers’ shopping habits, preferences and opinions, so these awards are based on proven, trusted data that is already accepted as the ‘currency’ in many industries.
“Unlike many awards, the results cannot be influenced by pre-selection criteria – like the businesses’ willingness to pay an ‘entry fee’.”Lexus was also recently named America’s ‘most dependable car-maker’ in the latest annual JD Power and Associates US Vehicle Dependability Study.
