Toronto, Ontario — January 30, 2020 — An Automotive Industry Association of Canada study has found that Canadians have slightly more confidence in the quality of repair work provided by dealerships than other groups.
According to At Your Service: How Do Canadians Select Their Automotive Repair Shop? which is part of a series of consumer report behaviour studies published by the AIA, 35 percent of Canadians preferred the work performed by dealerships, while 30 percent preferred other providers.
Another 35 percent stated there was no difference.
The report is part of AIA Canada’s Consumer Behaviour Series. Two previous entries in the series, Under the Hood: How Canadians View Vehicle Maintenance and Repair, and What’s in Your Online Cart? A Study of Automotive E-tailing in Canada are also available.
The final report, which will look at in-vehicle data, will be published this spring.
According to the AIA, the report contains information that will benefit all members of Canada’a auto repair community.
“A large part of being successful in business is understanding what keeps some customers coming back, and what drives others away,” the AIA wrote.”Building customer loyalty is key to any business’ long-term survival. With research showing that retaining an existing client base offers a far better return on investment than acquiring new customers, knowing what Canadian car owners look for in a service provider is of paramount importance.”
Among the other findings of the study were ones related to why people picked the type of facility they did.
Almost three-in-ten Canadians who made use of dealership repair services stated they felt they had more confidence in the reliabilty of dealerships over other service providers.
Another 21 percent preferred dealership repairs because they felt the staff were more knowledgeable about the vehicles themselves.
17 percent said they used dealerships due to perceived differences in customer service.
“A large part of being successful in business is understanding what keeps some customers coming back and what drives others away. Building customer loyalty is key to any business’ long-term survival.
The report, which was based on a survey of 2,000 Canadian consumers, also showed that dealerships were making strides in building-up their reputation as vehicle service and repair providers. In 2016, fewer than one-in-four dealer repair clients viewed their confidence in the reliability of repairs as their reason for choosing a dealership. The number of respondants who indicated that staff knowledgeability was their primary reason for choosing a dealership repair or maintenance facility also rose by three percent.
Among respondents who scrupulously avoided dealer-related repair providers, the most commonly stated reason was that the prices were better elsewhere.
The report also found that consumers generally viewed dealer-based repair and service facilities as being faster, more tech competent, cleaner, more proactive than other facilities. Respondents also viewed the parts provided as being of higher quality, and the customer service better at dealership-based repair facilities.
The full report is available for purchase online at the AIA’s website.
