Top 10 Press Release - May 21st 2021

JudgeService identifies high and low points of the car buying experience, with some dealers missing easy wins.

May 2021 - Car buyers rate the positive attitude of salespeople as the most valued part of vehicle transactions, while dealers failing to keep in contact with customers after selling them a car is their biggest grievance, according to new research from JudgeService.

The dealer customer review platform polled the views of 30,217 car buyers between January and May asking them to identify the 10 highs and lows of their purchasing experiences. All respondents had bought a car within the last 12 months.

Other high points for buyers included the positive attitude of sales people during handover, adherence to social distancing measures and the presentation of the dealer’s facilities; evidence of the importance of people skills and safety measures during car transactions conducted both before and after retailing restrictions were lifted in April.

While the biggest turn offs after failure to keep in touch included disappointment with the mechanical preparation of cars, the attitude of dealer staff during handover, dissatisfaction with the vehicles and the cleanliness of car interiors and exteriors.

Source: JudgeService, January-May 2021

“Our research shows just how easy it is for dealers to win and lose the respect of buyers and this will continue to separate the top performers from the under achievers,” said Neil Addley, managing director of JudgeService.

The publishing of the top 10 research coincides with the tenth anniversary of the launch of JudgeService, founded by Addley in May 2011. Since then the business has published over 1 million customer reviews and is used by over 1,000 franchised, independent and car supermarket sites across the UK.

“It’s encouraging to see how some sales staff are delivering excellent customer services, especially during the lockdown restrictions. Buying a car is a major purchase for most people, which is why the salesperson is such an important part of their experience. Getting it right means retailers will be rewarded by customers becoming promoters when talking to family and friends,” said Addley.

“On the flip side there is a huge opportunity to build relationships by addressing the failure of some dealers to keep in touch with customers after their purchase. There’s a basic rule in car retailing that buyers should be contacted within the first three days of a purchase and then after three weeks; this ensures any issues are rectified. It’s also good practice to keep in touch at three monthly intervals afterwards as that builds relationships and can prompt referrals.

JudgeService’s recent White Paper¹, Emerging From Lockdowns, identified when customers are contacted after they’ve made a purchase the number of promoters jumps from 61% to 86%, while detractors drop from 11% to 3%.

“Customers really do appreciate a phone call to see how they’re getting on with their new purchase. It’s such an easy win but too many dealers are continuing to score own goals by failing to do so,” said Addley.

Source 1: "Emerging From Lockdowns: What Happened and What Next?" - JudgeService, March 2021.

Further details and comments available from Neil Addley on 07795 665927 or neil@judgeservice.com.

About JudgeService

Launched in 2011 by Neil Addley, JudgeService is the UK’s only customer review platform developed exclusively for the car retailing sector. By ensuring all reviews are verified and genuine, JudgeService builds a solid foundation of trust and respect between customers and sellers enabling car retailers to actively manage their online reputations.

JudgeService shares granular insight reports with dealers to help them identify opportunities to improve customer satisfaction levels, with many achieving 100% recommendation scores.

Based in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, JudgeService has published over 1 million customer reviews and is used by over 1,000 franchised, independent and car supermarket sites across the UK.

Issued by Curtis Hutchinson Communications

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