Mercedes-Benz Takes Pole Position with Most Satisfied Customers

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Guest Article by Brittany Cermak*

There are a number of ways to prepare a list of the top car brands in the current market. A common approach is to track the units sold on a yearly basis and come up with a list of car manufacturers who’ve sold the most cars per year. Research companies then frequently break the list down to determine what percentage of the market each automaker occupies by country and by region. While this information is certainly helpful to consumers, many also like to know how each automaker ranked in terms of customer satisfaction.

Some consumers feel that customer satisfaction is by far the most important factor to consider when they are shopping for a new car. Often when deciding between two vehicles, a consumer will ultimately go with the brand that has a better reputation for customer service. According to the 2012 Prospect Satisfaction Index, this year Mercedes-Benz provided their customers with the best service. To determine this, data was pulled from the US Auto Industry Benchmarking Study spearheaded by Pied Piper Management Company.

In that study, car companies were rated based on sixty different components by a team of 4000 mystery shoppers. These components included details about the first few interactions between the buyer and the salesperson, including whether the salesperson introduced himself to the buyer or not, whether the buyer was invited to test-drive the car, and whether the salesperson provided the buyer with a clear picture of financial options for purchasing the car. In short, automakers were rated on how well they treated the customers, from the time they first began shopping for a vehicle up until they drove off the lot.

Unsurprisingly, luxury automaker Mercedes-Benz scored highest in ten (10) of the sixty (60) customer satisfaction categories and was determined to have the most satisfied customers of any car brand. Following behind Mercedes, there was a three way tie between Japanese brands Acura, Infinity and Lexus. The brands with the least satisfied customers were Audi, Jeep, Mitsubishi, Porsche and Suzuki. Additionally, the study found that the salespeople from Volkswagen, Buick and Subaru were more impressive in terms of customer service than those at BMW or Hyundai.
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* This guest post was written by Brittany Cermak on behalf of Mercedes-Benz of Northlake.

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