Press

For the first time, Audi dealers top the Pied Piper Satisfaction Index. In the cellar is Tesla.

A by-brand mystery-shopping study of how well auto dealerships deliver customer satisfaction indicates top scorers had something in common: They helped customers more.

“‘Helpful’ is one word that determines how dealerships did,” says Fran O’Hagan, president and CEO of Pied Piper Management, a consultancy that sent secret shoppers to 3,466 dealerships nationwide.

“And fact-finding is essential to being helpful,” he says, referring to a point in a sales process when the car salesperson asks questions about customers’ mobility needs to help them select the right vehicle.

O’Hagan contends such factfinding remains relevant today, even though many customers extensively shop and research online. Many of them know exactly what they want when they arrive at the dealership. Others aren’t so sure. That said, “It’s unusual for someone to show up at a dealership and say, ‘I don’t know what I want,’” O’Hagan notes.

“The customer may have done the research but came to the wrong conclusion,” he tells WardsAuto. “That’s especially true if they are moving into a new brand. For example, someone buying a BMW for the first time might not be entirely sure which one is right for them.”

That’s where it is helpful when the salesperson asks customers questions, such as how they primarily will use the vehicle and how many miles they typically drive in a year.

For the first time, Audi dealers top the Pied Piper Satisfaction Index, followed by Lexus, Toyota, Mercedes-Benz and Infiniti. In the cellar is Tesla, a brand that has never scored well on the Pied Piper test.

Mystery shoppers found some Tesla salespeople were outstandingly effective, but too many of them weren’t, basically because they just answered customer questions. O’Hagan likens them to museum curators.