Recent Press - Car Connection

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 ... Read More >

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 ... Read More >

There are a lot of ways to measure customer satisfaction. J.D. Power talks to recent buyers. Polk looks at sales stats and customer retention. But the folks at Pied Piper do it the old-fashioned way: with secret shoppers. Between July 2011 and June 2012, Pied Piper hired 4,419 secret shoppers to visit dealerships across the U.S. The shoppers scored each sales pitch on 60 different criteria: were they offered a brochure? Were they given a ... Read More >

As U.S. auto sales gradually rebound, it would seem that dealerships and showroom salespeople would be eager than ever to let the good times roll once again. But could some brands be slowing their sales recovery due to understaffed dealerships that aren't making every effort to inform shoppers about the vehicle, get them in it, be straightforward, and complete the sale? It's a question that automakers might find worth looking into. According to a ... Read More >

Significantly, those brands which have been able to grow sales also have dealers who are more likely to satisfy shoppers. Read More >