According to J.D. Power's 2019 Customer Service Index survey of customer satisfaction with after-sales service, General Motors dealerships are doing just that.

Among the luxury brands, Cadillac gained one place from last year and landed in third place, replacing Audi, which dropped to eighth place. Cadillac is working to improve the quality of its vehicles after downgrading J.D. Power's studies of vehicle reliability in the United States.

More: Lexus, Toyota and the list of the most reliable cars in America, according to J.D. Power

The number one this year was Porsche and the second was Lexus, according to the study released Thursday.

Ford's luxury brand, Lincoln, came in below the industry average, ranking seventh out of 12 luxury brands on the list.

Among the 19 brands in the mass market, Buick ranks for the third consecutive year in the forefront of the J.D. Power 2019 Customer Service Index. (Photo: Jim Fets, Buick)

Among the 19 brands in the mass market, Buick ranks first for the third year in a row. The MINI ranks second, followed by Mitsubishi, Chevrolet, GMC and Toyota. Ford landed at number 13, Chrysler was ranked 15th followed by Dodge, Jeep, RAM and Fiat respectively. The Ford and FCA brands were all below the industry average.

"This is an important area for dealers," said Chris Sutton, vice president of US Automotive Retail Practice, J.D. Power. "Seemingly simple things like finishing the service right the first time; restore the settings as they were when the customer brought the vehicle; and washing the customer's vehicle – all three of which are key performance indicators – can affect their perception of service quality. "

To do things well

Sutton stated that the correct first-time repairs are done 94% of the time on average and that the car's settings are done 81% of the time, but the customer's car cleaning only occurs in 45% of the time. cases.

"These basic principles are really essential to cement the customer's relationship with their reseller," said Sutton.

The US CSI 2019 study is based on responses from 57,286 vehicle owners and renters from the 2016 to 2018 model year. The study was conducted from October to December 2018.

The study measures service satisfaction at a franchisee dealer or an independent service center for maintenance or repair work between owners and renters of 1 to 3 year old vehicles.

GM has declared its vital importance for high rank in customer service and sales satisfaction.

"We know that if a customer enjoys an exceptional service experience with his vehicle, he is far more likely to stay true to the brand when it comes time to redeem," said Jim Cain, GM spokesperson .

Example: In January, IHS Markit stated that GM had gained the highest customer loyalty among all US automakers who sold their vehicles for the fourth consecutive year.

J.D. Power's study revealed that customer service customers want more and more the comfort that technology offers them, Sutton said.

"For example, 34% of customers indicate that they prefer to communicate via SMS – but this only happens 9% of the time!" said Sutton. "There is no reason why this is not a more widely adopted practice in the industry."

Cain believes that technology, such as GM's OnStar system, is one of the strengths of GM's brands.

"With OnStar, you can download the phone application and get service reminders via your phone or e-mail and schedule a service with your phone or even via the touch screen of your car," said Cain. "This makes the entire experience easy and convenient for the customer."

In addition, said Cain, over the last five years, most GM dealers have either redeveloped, built new service roads or showrooms to make them more efficient and attractive.

These new facilities make a difference because it is one of the measures that J. D. Power uses to classify car brands. In fact, "the service center" accounts for 17% of the brand's score, Sutton said.

Luxury brands ranking

J.D. Power provides a digital ranking of the best performing automotive brands in the United States. The ranking is based on the combined scores of five different measurements constituting the vehicle owner's service experience: quality of service, service launch, service advisor, service facility and vehicle support.

1: Porsche

2: Lexus

3: Cadillac

4: Infiniti

5: Mercedes-Benz

6: Acura

7: Lincoln

8: Audi

9: BMW

10: Volvo

11: Jaguar

12: Land Rover

Mass market brand ranking:

1: Buick

2: MINI

3: Mitsubishi

4: Chevrolet

5: GMC

6: Toyota

7: Nissan

8: Volkswagen

9: Subaru

10: Kia

11: Hyundai

12: Honda

13: Ford

14: Mazda

15: Chrysler

16: Dodge

17: Jeep

18: RAM

19: Fiat

Contact Jamie L. LaReau at 313-222-2149 or [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @Jlareauan. Learn more about General Motors and sign up for our Car Newsletter.

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