Hyundai’s Dealer Network Becomes the First in the Auto Industry to Showcase Two-Way Communication Via Web-Based Owner Ratings and Reviews
COSTA MESA, Calif. Nov. 13, 2013 – Hyundai Motor America and its dealer network announced today that they will publicly feature owner-generated ratings and reviews of their dealership service experience through SureCritic™. The ratings and reviews are published on a public third-party SureCritic review site that is unique to each dealership. A link on www.hyundaiusa.com takes site visitors to www.surecritic.com/hyundai-dealer, where all participating dealers are listed.
“This is a very exciting example of how we defy convention by being the first mainstream brand to publically communicate with consumers on a third-party web site for anyone to see,” said Frank Ferrara, executive vice president, Customer Satisfaction, Hyundai Motor America. “This open, two-way communication will support and promote how our dealers delight customers on a daily basis. Accounts of each dealer’s customer service will be public record for all to see. We think that transparency is motivating to our dealers and valuable information for our owners.”
More than half of Hyundai dealers already use this program and share their customer feedback openly in the public domain.
“Car owners tell us they have survey fatigue. Their input is incredibly valuable, but from their standpoint it’s been a one-direction, closed communication channel, with little opportunity for feedback,” said John Krafcik, president and CEO, Hyundai Motor America. “This web-based approach allows our owners to openly share their experiences, positive or negative, and give Hyundai dealers the opportunity to demonstrate their dedication to delighting their customers.”
Owners can give their dealership visit an overall satisfaction rating between one and five stars, post a review and recommend the dealer to their social network.
“Web-based reviews and sharing via social media is the new frontier, and now we’ve adopted this approach as the best way to get feedback on customer service quality,” said John Little, service director, Hyundai of New Port Richey. “In our business, it’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day details and not realize that someone just left the store completely satisfied, or unsatisfied. I definitely recommend this tool to our customers and other Hyundai dealers. These days, more and more folks rely on web-based customer reviews, whether it is through Facebook, SureCritic or other sites. It’s great we’re taking the lead for car owners with this program.”
SureCritic validates that the posted review is from an actual customer, by verifying the customer’s service information against actual repair order records from the dealership. SureCritic also has a mobile version of its website, making it quick and easy for potential customers to read Hyundai dealership reviews on the go. Since all verified reviews are posted, regardless of score, Hyundai Motor America and its dealers can easily respond to customers and identify areas to improve existing services quickly, without the delay usually associated with national customer satisfaction surveys.
Customer reviews provide potential Hyundai buyers and owners seeking a dealership service provider with a greater level of transparency, with every owner scoring a particular Hyundai dealer based on their own experiences.
“By giving every service customer the opportunity to write and share a rating and review in the public domain, Hyundai and its dealers provide consumers with an unprecedented level of transparency to the customer satisfaction equation,” said David Brondstetter, chief executive officer, SureCritic, Inc. “Because we validate customer status and do not delete negative reviews, Hyundai customers and prospects no longer have to visit multiple review sites and wonder, which ones are real and for the model they own.”
Along with the ratings and reviews, participating dealerships enjoy a host of other features and benefits from the program including:
- The ability for dealers to easily display testimonials and reviews on their own website
- A social sharing application making it easy for dealership customers to share reviews with their social network
- ReScore, a patent pending, concern resolution process designed to measure and display how effective dealership personnel are at resolving a customer’s concern
- Initial setup and training followed by monthly consultative outreach by a program representative
- A full suite of reports including competitive benchmarks for key performance indicators
