Hunting for CSI getting out of hand

[Michael White]

I was inspired to write my feelings on "huntung" for CSI from Rob's article on CSI and J.D. Powers. The persuit of CSI is getting out of hand and not being supported by GM to the level our dealers are trying to aspire to. We have to groblle to remind, call multiple times, and pester our customers to get thier reports in. The customers' attitude on CSI is changing rapidly. They are demanding more and more and more................ and we are doing it. Case in point, a Buick customer comes in for a recall and a LOF. He had a complaint about a brake squeel, but did not want to pay for a brake inspection. The Buick had over 45k miles. We washed the car, did everything before a promise time. the customer got a CSI report from GM. But rated us just satisfied because we did not take care of his brake noise. Another Buick customer same scenerio with a rattle in the door at 49K miles. He did not want to pay to diagnos the rattlle and gave us a somwhat satisfied. A Chevrolet came in. We did maintenance, a recall,. and and another complaint, but since they had over 40K miles, I am not allowed to do crossline goodwill warranty work. But he still got a CSI and rated us Satisfied because we could not repair his vehicle, being past warranty. Just recieved a CSI back from another Buick customer with 94,000 miles, yes, 94000 miles. Was in for a bunch of repairs and maintenance, and a recall. Plus we did a goodwill on a A/C condensor because when it was in warranty, it failed. Our rep, who is real supportive, OK'd the condensor. But they rated us completely dissatisied because they had 2 squeek/rattle noises that we spent over 1 hour on, and could not duplicate. They were too busy to road test with us. We had a customer who had a GMC bought back thru the BBB for swirls in the paint Totally fixable, but swirls none the less. Do you realy think you can satisfy someone who has filed BBB? GM does not give us all the tools to deal with CSi at the level they want us to. Sometimes thier product does not support the world class ratings they want. GM holds all their dealers hostage if you want to expand, yet they allow 94000 miles vehicles to get CSI, and they do not turn off CSI on buyback customers. Our dealer just signed up for a $25,000 porgram that ties CSI and car sales. We stand to gain a lot of money. But in order to reach the numbers they want, we will have to "hunt" for CSi, rather than just focus on doing it right. If GM is going to hold us totally accountable for good CSI after 36/36, then they should extend the warranty to a mileage they determine they will mail a CSI to. If a customer has filed BBB, they shoud turn off CSI. GM has no right to survey vehicle with 94000 miles or any cross line vehicle above 36/36 that limits our ability to help them. We had a customer who blasted us on CSI during their bumper to bumper due to parts delays on GM's part. At 40K miles he wanted some goodwill. I told him no goodwill, because GM requires goodwill only to those customers that promote a positive goodwill. I do not think I could do that with this customer so I declined assistance/. I was chastized for saying this. But following GM's Policy and Procedure guidelines, and their CSi questionaires to customers with recalls and past warranty repairs, changes and adds significant warranty expense. If a customer is going to get a survey, i will handle them as if they are within bumper to bumper. The pursuit of high CSI is no longer fun. It is a chore, that requires reminding customers repeatedly to turn in the surveys, and if they have a problem with thier car, telling them they can differentiate us versus GM on their CSi form. GM grobbles with us for thier CSI as well. Case in point, they have reminded all of us at least 15 times the last 2 months about improving the JD Power surveys with respect to leaving impact protectors on the vehicles. They are right, we should. However, the real reason there has been a real spike in scratches, dings, dents, etc, is the distribution system for new cars for GM is terrible. We will get no product for a while, then get enough product to supply us for 6 to 9 months. All dealers in the country have gone through this the last 6 months or so in an extreme manner.

I truly understand the importance of CSI, and believe our growth, and success is tied to it. But the serious dealers are playing the the CSI game, some doing bribery, which will increase the number of responses and increase CSI, but will continue to annoy our customers, who are really getitng tired of it all and are becoming very annoyed with the hole process. It was OK whdn just the new car dealers are surveying. Now everyone from your grocer, dentist, attorney to your church are surveying you.

[This message has been edited by Michael White (edited 12-15-2003).]

[R Sibley]

AMEN BROTHER!!!

[tomv]

I'm sorry mike but ive got to disagree with some of your feelings toward csi and your chosen method of pursuit. There are a great number of customers with high expectations and constantly trying to raise the bar to satisfy those expectations is nothing more than "feeding the animal" as i like to put it. We have created the expectations by allowing them to believe if they continue to ask for more we will provide it. Instead of educating them to the facts that there are service plans that exist and better ways to ask for assistance we end up showing our Achilles heel by groveling and pandering. Beg for csi and it will become harder and harder to achieve. Offer or expect assistance every time you have a difficult customer and they will continue to test you for more. Offering partial assistance in the form of discounts or goodwill with customer copays might be received better by the factory representatives and help educate your customers that they cant always get something for nothing. Their participation keeps them honest and supports the reason why service plans exist. Your participation shows the factory and the customer that you are willing to go the extra yard for customer satisfaction instead of expecting the factory to do it all. Analyze the lost income a warranty claim results in and apply it as a discount. Now youre assisting the customer and it isnt costing you any more.
I know its not the only reason for your pursuit of high csi but citing a program tied to sales that makes your company more money is a poor excuse for needing higher scores and not what I would place focus on in a post of this sort. It leads one to believe you are focusing on csi for profit as opposed to customer satisfaction, its intended meaning.
No matter where you go or what you do there will always be a fair amount of customers who will never be completely satisfied regardless of what you do for them. We are all in the same boat so your scores should reflect that on a comparative basis.
Gm does not turn off customers with buybacks or continually dissatisfied customers because they are customers and there is a chance they will turn around or they may be satisfied with the service their dealer provides but not the vehicle. They are still your customer. Gm has every right to survey customers with vehicles of any mileage as long as dealers using their name are servicing them.
Regarding the comment that gm requires goodwill only to those customers that promote a positive goodwill was worthy of chastising. You pinned it on gm instead of taking responsibility for your own decision. Then you reinforce this action by reminding customers that they can differentiate between gm and you on the survey to improve your score. Taking responsibility for your decision would have been nobler and less likely to be interpreted as you hiding behind the evil corporation.
If excessive damage is being caused by the transportation company then it should be caught at vehicle check in. that is easy to differentiate from lot damage as there is documentation to support your claim. If you are claiming damage after drop it is your responsibility per policies and procedures. This is spelled out very clearly.

I probably agree with you more than is evident in this post. But I cant agree with the examples you gave.

I will be the first to agree that good csi scores arent easy to achieve and that the process is far from perfect. I have been a past national leader in out of warranty policy repairs and have had to teach myself and my staff to separate what my customers expect from reality and how to educate them in that respect. I have found that as my customers have been required to participate more in out of warranty policy repairs they have become more loyal and understanding. Customers are reminded that warranties expire and plans are made available to reinforce this. My scores have improved as my policy assistance has decreased. It has become more a matter of presentation at the desk and the rest of the facility than what do I have to give away today. I have tried every argument in the world against the current system and until I put the responsibility on myself I had a difficult time improving myself and my facilitys csi.
Every day we are forced to make decisions based on so many different factors that most people are unaware of. All the while juggling numbers thatll cook your noodle. It is a job few would want if they knew what it entailed. We choose to do it and take on the responsibility that goes along with it. Every day we have to ask ourselves what could we have done differently to change the outcome of

[robc]

I think the core of argument without getting into much debate is CSI is fake number that is manipulated by dealers depending on their level of expertise in doing so and their desire to do the same. I've been in enough stores and compared their CSI with what I was watching with my own eyes to know the difference. CSI at this point in the game has little relative comparison to the dealers true ability to service the customer.

And GM's policies seem to punish those that are trying to do the right thing.



------------------
** Rob, Editor Dealersedge/WD&S **
Help is only a message post away!
robc@dealersedge.com

[Michael White]

Tom V, you give a great rebuttal and taking responsibility for your actions, good or bad, is a absolute. However, when GM waives a $100,000 potential bill on your owners door step, the pressures for continous CSI increases can become "unnatural" GM stores learned by following many of the foreign car lines. Buying a Acura in a dealership near us, you are asked, begged showed the CSI form when buying a car, and called no less than 10 times. The bottom line is the customer will rate you as they see you. You can only legitimately try to increase the positive responses by constant reminders. Your core business must be customer focused, with plans and procedures on dealing with troubled situations. CSI driven programs increase the numbers beyond actual satisfaction.

The procedures and systems for satisfying customers are fairly universal. However, one of the big veriables in CSI is the customer base themselves. There are radical variations in CSI for GM, depending on where you live in the country. The west coast I believe has the lowest CSI in the country. There are legitimate reasosn for this. The fact that the west coast is primarily a foreign market for cars has a lot to do with it. For me to compete with the same dealer in middle America is difficult. So many factors are involved.

I truly feel customer satisfaction is critically important to us and all businesses. We dedicate a lot of support staff, and goodwill and many systems to allow us to be open to our customers. But there are many dealers I know that are "buying" their CSI to be able to get the numbers they have. I want to earn my CSI by doing it the right way. But in order to compete, and that is what we do since we are compared to zones, regions, nations, etc, more and more effort is going into meeting customer needs. This is in a time where the manufacturers are looking to reduce their expenses and pass them to the dealers. I feel the manufacturers have the right to set standards, as long as all the tools are given to the dealerships to do what it takes to make those standards. They do not. The above examples given are not unique situations. Customer's expectations are exceeding the capabilites of the car lines. A custyomer does not want to wait for a oil change, so you shuttle them to the mall and call them when it is ready, and pick them up. While they are being picked up, you wash and vacuum their car. You get $29.95 for a LOF, spend $15 in shuttlle service, $10 washing their car, get $14 labor for the LOF, pay the tech $10 or more to do the LOF. We do all of this because our customers expect it becuase we are constantly asking our customers to raise the bar because of our desire to raise the bar to make our customer's happier. The circle continues. With few exceptions the highest CSI car lines are also the higest qualtiy car lines. I do feel the CSI numbers for many car lines are higher than the car lines deserves. Warranty costs are higher in a averge Honda store than they are in a same size GM store. So why is Honda's CSI higher than GM's?
To conclude, the pressure for constant improvement for CSI, even when your CSI is good, is present, and I think it has gone over the line. Having great CSI with a product line that your customers may percieve is inferior to the foreign market, makes all CSI improvements harder and harder to raise the bar. That is my concern.

[tomv]

Understood mike. I am in agreement with getting good csi numbers by doing it right. I believe in minimal coaching and providing good service being the key ingredients to that formula. I am witness to many facilities who use extensive coaching and some backhanded methods to raise csi but have seen few who can sustain good numbers with those tactics. I find it hard to believe a customer can respond positively to a company that badgers them for csi numbers and compliance. I have similar challenges with customer return numbers being lower than I would like along with the some considering the constant barrage of surveys a bother. I have eliminated follow-up calls in lieu of a simple postcard to be less intrusive for the same reasons. It is an ever changing world and we have the difficult task of keeping up with the changes. Personally I think the acura dealership you mentioned is using more intrusive and bothersome tactics that would aggravate a customer more than motivate them.

The position I am in disagreement with is, we do all this because our customers expect it because we are constantly asking our customers to raise the bar because of our desire to raise the bar to make our customers happy.
It seems to be a common misconception that we want to do more for our customers when in fact what I believe we want is to make our customers understand the services we provide are valuable and provided for their convenience. Exaggerating the statement you used eventually leads to us paying them to bring their vehicles to our facilities-or-the bar is eventually raised to an unobtainable height. My point regarding educating customers is based on the fact that customers do not realize the value they receive when they come to our facilities for service. Unless we convey that to them somehow they will never understand it. We allow the bar to be raised by conforming to their way of thinking. If you spoil a child they will grow up unappreciative and uncaring. If you instill a sense of value and values in the child they will show more appreciation for what happens around them and how they fit into the picture. The latter is a more difficult path to follow but reaps benefits in the long run. We have made a habit in the name of customer satisfaction of losing sight of long term gains by seeking instant short term gratification. That is the root of feeding the animal.

CSI is higher in many car lines than they deserve for many reasons. Not the least of which is perception. Perception becomes reality to the uneducated. The foreign brands have been able to hold onto the domestic failures of the 70s & 80s for longer than they deserved to. The domestics have improved quality to levels that rival foreign brands but have been so busy feeding the animal that our focus is misguided. I have found in most instances that customers are treated with less respect and subject to more questionable charges along with expensive maintenance programs in foreign facilities. Why do they accept it from them and not us? Because those facilities make them do it. Meanwhile the domestics try to make up for long since past failures by pandering and trying to do as much as we can for free. We devalue our own brands by allowing customers to believe we need to extend ourselves to make up for the quality difference. Instead of selling the truth we are busy reacting to customer fantasy and turning it into perceived reality.

The problem with changing perception is that things generally get worse before they get better. People need to be allowed to walk away and experience what is, or isnt, available to them elsewhere before they can appreciate what they had. Until the industry as a whole excepts this and realizes that continually raising the bar will eventually make it unobtainable we will continue to experience the same issues.

Doing it better doent necessarily mean doing more. It means doing it right and more effectively. Somebody has to fire the first shot to start a revolution. I am fortunate to be a member of an organization that has had enough challenges in the past to be willing to take some chances with some not so conventional ideas. So far they have worked well for us. We will continue to try new ideas and evaluate their effectiveness. We have found out that we have more control than previously believed. Perception.interesting concept.

[jallen4]

We have a 76.6 top box in service and a 86.7 top box in sales. This is down from the last two years slightly and we are working on that. We are in a market with five other Cadillac dealers and serve at least 50% employee cars.
We do not wash cars, give free oil changes, nor do we have a high goodwill account internally or with warranty. We control more than 50% of the c/p and warranty work in our market. Our customers get the same CSI forms that are used nationally.
We do speak honestly with our customers. We see to it that they receive everything they have coming to them regardless of where they bought their car or what it costs. We also explain to them that service is not cheap and the warranty is the warranty both before the sale and after. We do not satisfy everyone and we do not cry when this happens.
Every employee is trained to treat the customer with respect and honesty. Every employee that has direct contact with the customer has a payplan largely based on CSI. There are no tricks to CSI, but only complete dedication by a well trained team will result in long term high scores.

[tomv]

now that deserves an amen!

[slilly01]

I believe we are responsible for our making our own CSI. It has alot to do with developing a relationships with each of our customers. Most will allow us to be their service provider, based on how we treat them and their vehicles, and then there's some that won't because we have failed to meet their expectations or they simply don't want to have anything to do with us.
But, I believe there's a more serious CSI issue that's not ours. The manufacture of the product has failed to meet a customer's expectation and refuses to accept responsiblity. It doesn't matter if the expectation is valid or not. The customer isn't satisfied. The problem with this is that no employee of the manufacture feels the heat, the emotion, and the displeasure of this customer. Besides that they are not effected by that customer's CSI score. The dealer get's hit with all of this.
Michael's statements echo this and I believe this is what Rob was questioning. General Motors makes no allowance for their failures to be brought into question by a customer until their issues involve the BBB and attorneys. CSI should financially effect General Motors employees personally and hold them accountable for design flaws and manufacturing goofups.
There's no doubt that we stand to improve and we need to earn our customers' business but listen to General Motors talk about regaining market share. If they want to regain market share then they need to take the heat off the dealership body, do something to excite us in their products and promotions, own up to their responsiblities, hold their employees accountable and pay them for CSI, DSI (Dealership Sstisfaction Index), ESI (their own Employee Satisfaction Index because they're unhappy too), and their indiviual perfomance in resolving problems.
The sad fact is that I don't see this happening. General Motors isn't known to listen and to be proactive.

[This message has been edited by slilly01 (edited 12-22-2003).]

[This message has been edited by slilly01 (edited 12-22-2003).]

[tomv]

how certain are you that gm employees are not affected by csi scores? just as many people outside of your dealer are unaware that your pay may be partially based on csi i am sure there are people working at gm whose plans are similar in some ways. their position may be similar to yours. they can help by providing a higher quality product but they cannot control the service customers are receiving in dealer facilities. does that change in any way your view of the bigger picture? maybe they are wondering why there are facilities with below average csi when these facilities are dealing with the same product, good or bad, as above average facilities.
product quality is universal at all dealer facilities. blaming the manufacturer for a below average facility csi may indicate looking for excuses rather than solutions.