Hino gets top marks for sales, service and parts

Hino South Africa has been a consistently strong performer in the quarterly Scott Byers Comparative Customer Satisfaction Monitor (CCSM), but in the third quarter of 2018 it has surpassed its previous best performance and set a new benchmark for the highest overall score in the combined category, which adds scores in sales, service, and parts.

Hino achieved an overall score of 99,25%, with scores of 99,23% for sales, 99,36% for service and 99,17% for parts.

These were the highest scores in all categories, taking Hino back to number one overall, sales and parts rankings, while it retained top spot in the service rating.

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Importantly Hino did not get any feedback from fleet owners who said they were “dissatisfied”.

Scott Byers has been conducting these independent, quarterly customer experience interviews with fleet operators continuously since 1986.

“It is gratifying to see the manner in which we have been able to move back into the top position in all categories of this fleet owner survey while also setting a new benchmark in terms of our overall score,” commented Ernie Trautmann, the vice-president of Hino South Africa.

“We are particularly proud that this achievement follows closely on the announcement of the results of the Dealer Satisfaction Index (DSI), conducted annually by the national Automobile Dealers’ Association (NADA), where Hino was ranked number one in the commercial vehicle category.”

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The Scott Byers survey uses a four-point rating when fleet operators are interviewed: 5 = happy; 4 = happy, but …; 3 = OK or indifferent; 5 = unhappy.

These criteria are applied to a number of questions in each category of the interview – sales, service, and parts.

The experienced research company then separates the combined scores on three breakpoints: Over 90% means customers are, on average, six times more likely to do more business with you; scores between 80%-90% mean customers are, on average, open to other suppliers’ advances; a combined score below 80% means that customers are looking for a new supplier.

The Scott Byers researchers set 95% as a benchmark as this indicates a company’s systems and programmes related to the customer experience and implemented and have traction with the customers.

In the most recent survey the industry averages were 95,27% for sales, 92,97% for service, 93,85% for parts and 94,03% for the overall ratings.

The Hino sales team fared particularly well in terms of two statements, “They sell vehicles of the highest quality” and “The sales people are easy to contact and respond fast”.

In each case the score was higher than 4,5 out of 5. Hino scored more than 4,5 out of 5 in four of the statements posed to fleet operators, “In future will you use their service department the same, more or less”; “The service people communicate well and keep you informed on technical and service issues”; “They make it easy to have your vehicles serviced”; and “The service people with whom you have contact are technically highly competent”.

Replies from fleet operators using Hino trucks were also very positive in answering statements on the parts aspects of aftersales, with five of them getting scores of more than 4,5 out of 5. Referring to these positive responses by fleet operators the Hino SA vicepresident said, “Our strong results are due to a concerted effort by our team at head office, our dealers and our parent company in Japan in continuing to enhance the customer experience in all aspects of their interface with Hino.