Automotive News First Shift
Benz dealerships score with mystery shoppers
July 2015
For the seventh straight year, Mercedes-Benz dealerships ranked first in Pied Piper's annual survey which rates how car dealers treat car-shoppers in person. Pied Piper's annual study sends thousands of mystery shoppers to dealerships nationwide to see how effectively salespeople sell.
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The Car Connection
Mercedes-Benz Is Tops In Shopper Satisfaction, But Tesla? Not So Much
July 2015
Today's auto market is a tough one for consumers. There are loads of great cars on the lots, and the differences between those from Toyota, Ford, Volkswagen, and most other mass-market automakers are disappearing. In that kind of environment, customer service is king. The way sales personnel treat shoppers can make or break a dealership. That's why studies like the Prospect Satisfaction Index (PSI) from research firm Pied Piper are so important ...
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The Detroit Bureau
Turning Shoppers into Customers: Mercedes Tops the Chart in New Study
Tesla turns its showrooms into museums.
July 2015
When Linda Brightman started out to buy a new car she had her heart set on a new BMW 3-Series. The suburban Los Angeles mother of two made one concession to her husband, agreeing to at least visit a few other showrooms to see what the competitors had to offer. He was nonetheless surprised when she drove home in a new Mercedes-Benz C-Class. She liked a lot of the safety features, Brightman explained. But what had clinched the deal was the way the ...
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Mini, Lexus, BMW stores most-improved in responding to potential buyers
July 2015
Mini, Lexus and BMW dealerships achieved the industry's biggest improvements in building rapport with potential buyers, while Mercedes-Benz stores led the way for a seventh-consecutive year, according to a newly released study. Volvo, Smart, Jaguar and Cadillac had the largest drops in performance. The ninth-annual Pied Piper Prospect Satisfaction Index U.S. Auto Industry Benchmarking Study measured the responsiveness of 6,370 dealerships of all ...
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MERCEDES-BENZ DEALERS RANKED HIGHEST BY 2015 PIED PIPER PSI(R) --MINI, BMW, LEXUS MOST IMPROVED--
July 2015
MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA – July 6, 2015 – For the seventh consecutive year, Mercedes-Benz dealerships ranked highest in the newly released 2015 Pied Piper Prospect Satisfaction Index® (PSI®) U.S. Auto Industry Benchmarking Study, which measured treatment of car-shoppers who visited 6,370 dealerships throughout the country. Study rankings by brand were determined by the patent-pending Pied Piper PSI process, which ties “mystery shopping” ...
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Wards Auto
Tesla Salespeople Would Make Great Museum Curators
July 2014
I ask Fran O'Hagan for a point of clarification after he says he would have been impressed if his consulting firm's study showed Tesla dealerships were consistent “regardless of whether I believe they're doing the right thing.” Wait? Does that mean he might think it is wrong for Tesla to bypass the traditional franchised dealership system and instead run its own stores? A lot of state dealer associations think it's wrong. They cite various state ...
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The Detroit Bureau
Following the Pied Piper: Study Shows Which Dealers Best at Closing the Deal
Despite claims of doing things better, Tesla falls far short of rivals
July 2014
For many – perhaps most – motorists, buying a car is a process only slightly less painful than having a root canal. Yet some dealers do a markedly better job not only keeping potential customers satisfied but also making sure they close the deal. Who's doing the best job is the subject of a new study that puts Mercedes-Benz at the top of the list, and battery-car start-up Tesla way down at the bottom. It's the first time Tesla has been included ...
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MERCEDES-BENZ DEALERS RANKED HIGHEST BY 2014 PIED PIPER PSI(R)
July 2014
MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA – July 7, 2014 – Mercedes-Benz dealerships ranked highest in the newly released 2014 Pied Piper Prospect Satisfaction Index® (PSI®) U.S. Auto Industry Benchmarking Study, which measured treatment of car-shoppers who visited 5,671 dealerships throughout the country. Study rankings by brand were determined by the patent-pending Pied Piper PSI process, which ties “mystery shopping” measurement and scoring to industry sales ...
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Wards Auto
What Do Customers Know?
August 2013
Ask car shoppers how a dealership salesperson should act, and they'll tell you this and that. Trouble is, they might not really know what makes for good salesmanship. Henry Ford said if he had asked his original customers what they wanted, they would have requested a faster horse. “The same could be said of asking people about their car-buying experience,” says Fran O'Hagan, CEO of Pied Piper Management. His consultancy recently completed its ...
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Washington Post
Study: Mercedes-Benz, Infiniti Dealerships Treat Shoppers Best
July 2013
Mercedes-Benz, Infiniti, and Lexus dealerships treat car shoppers the best, while at least some Scion and Mitsubishi dealerships have a lot to work on. These results are some of the top-level findings of the new 2013 Prospect Satisfaction Index (PSI), from the California sales and service consulting firm Pied Piper. This is the seventh consecutive year that Pied Piper has conducted the PSI studies, and for 2013 it's reset the industry-average ...
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