Service Operation Management_Maruti

Service Operations Management - Managing Customer
Satisfaction through Service Operation Efficiency

at
Maruti Suzuki Authorised Service Centres

MEMBERS ROLL No. BATCH

ANKIT SUNEJA 7

ARNAB BANERJEE 11

GANAPATHY SEETHARAMAN 23
EMP
GAURAV BHALLA 24
Oct 2008
HARSH SACHDEVA 31

RAKESH ROSHAN 46

SUDHIR BISHNOI 56

Contents
SERVICE OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT - MANAGING CUSTOMER SATISFACTION THROUGH SERVICE OPERATION
EFFICIENCY .................................................................................................................. 0

MANAGING CUSTOMER SATISFACTION THROUGH SERVICE OPERATION EFFICIENCY................................... 2
OBJECTIVE................................................................................................................... 2
INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................... 2
LIFETIME VALUE OF A CUSTOMER................................................................................... 3
FACTORS AFFECTING CUSTOMER SATISFACTION ............................................................. 4
SERVICE PROCESS ......................................................................................................... 6
SERVICE INITIATION ................................................................................................... 6
IN-SERVICE EXPERIENCE .............................................................................................. 7
SERVICE DELIVERY ..................................................................................................... 8
POST-SERVICE EXPERIENCE .......................................................................................... 9
MARUTI SERVICE PROCESS............................................................................................ 10
MEASURING & CLOSING THE GAPS.............................................................................. 11
GAP-1................................................................................................................... 13
GAP-2................................................................................................................... 15
Managing Customer Satisfaction through Service Operation Efficiency

GAP-3................................................................................................................... 17
GAP-4................................................................................................................... 20
GAP-5 (CUSTOMER GAP) ............................................................................................ 22
MAPPING SATISFACTION CATEGORIES ........................................................................ 24
SATISFACTION CATEGORIES............................................................................................. 24
MEETING EXPECTATIONS ................................................................................................ 25
CHALLENGES .............................................................................................................. 27
CUSTOMER ................................................................................................................ 28
COMPETITOR ............................................................................................................. 28

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Managing Customer Satisfaction through Service
Operation Efficiency

OBJECTIVE
This project covers the various aspects of managing customer satisfaction at a Maruti authorized dealer
workshop. Through this project we aim at understanding and analyzing the customer satisfaction
management systems, presently followed by Maruti workshops, and its significance through the
perspectives learnt in the subject “Service Operations Management”. At the end of the project, we also
attempt to suggest recommendations for improving the present Customer Satisfaction management
systems of Maruti workshops based on our learning in the subject.

INTRODUCTION
An automobile is a quite unique product. Unlike pure services, it has a component of the product quality
which affects the overall experience of the customers and unlike pure products it has a service
component which also significantly affects the overall experience of the customers. There are many
products today in which there is some component of service which a customer may or may not
experience but an automobile is one such product which has a component of Periodic Maintenance
Service (PMS) i.e. the regular service which a customer definitely experiences during the ownership of
the product. For a typical automobile, a customer visits the workshop to avail service almost 3 times per
year for regular maintenance as well as intermittent repairs. A car is owned by a person for almost 4-5
years on an average. Hence, during the entire lifetime of a car, a customer experiences after-sales
service almost 12-15 times while he experiences the sales just once. As the ratio of overall experience is
significantly skewed towards after-sales service, hence the service satisfaction has a significant effect on
the loyalty of a customer.

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LIFETIME VALUE OF A CUSTOMER
The typical lifetime value of a customer (not discounted to present value) who purchases a small car and
avails service and body repair needs of his car for 5 years would be as follows:

In the above table, the amounts assumed are an approximate conservative estimate from the Maruti
Suzuki’s dealers’ data. As we can see from the above data that Service contributes to almost 75% or
three-fourths of the margin earned from each customer. Hence, it becomes critical to focus on the
service experience of a customer as it has a major contribution to the bottom-line of an automobile
dealership. But, there are 3 important behaviors of a customer which every automobile business desires
to ensure that the earnings detailed in the above table are virtually achieved in perpetuity:
1. Recommend – The satisfaction of a customer with the service experience will influence the “word-of-
mouth” of the customer and hence have a strong effect on the business received from the friends and
relatives of the customer.
2. Revisit – The satisfaction of a customer with the service experience will also have an effect on the
repeat visit of the customer for fulfilling the repeat service needs of his vehicle.
3. Re-purchase – The satisfaction of a customer with the service experience will also affect the re-
purchase behavior of the customer when he decides to replace his vehicle with a new one. Thus

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indirectly the service satisfaction has an effect on the entire spectrum of earnings during the lifetime of
a customer.

FACTORS AFFECTING CUSTOMER SATISFACTION
For an automobile, the customer satisfaction is affected by 2 factors:
1. Service quality
2. Product quality

As per the importance study conducted by M/s. JD Power, product quality (i.e. Problems Experienced)
has just ~25% effect on the customers’ satisfaction while the service quality (i.e. total of remaining

factors) has almost ~75% impact.
The same is depicted below in the pie chart. Thus we also see that in automobile ownership, the service
quality has a higher impact on the overall customer satisfaction than the product quality. Moreover, an
automobile service provider has little control on the product quality which is mainly affected/ controlled
by the manufacturer. Hence, it is important and rather more relevant for a dealership to focus more on
service quality rather than product quality.

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Keeping the above facts in mind, our further discussions shall focus primarily on Service Quality. In order
to understand how to manage customer satisfaction, we will first describe the various stages of getting a
vehicle serviced. Then we shall describe the ways that can be adopted to measure the gap between the
perception and expectation. In the subsequent section we will try to describe the ways in which the gaps
can be closed & service quality be improved and finally we shall recommend ways in which the entire
experience can be designed to excel in customer satisfaction.

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SERVICE PROCESS

The entire service process which a customer undergoes can be broken down into 4 main stages:
1. Service Initiation
2. In-Service Experience
3. Service Delivery
4. Post-Service Experience
In the following sub-section, we will try to understand what the customer evaluates during each step of
the service process. This will help us in designing the entire service experience to take care of potential
shortfalls. In each of the steps of interaction, we will also try to understand the hygiene factors and the
activities which can delight the customer.

Service Initiation
This is the stage in which a customer gets his vehicle into the service. The convenience and speed with
which the customer is able to get his vehicle into the service process determines the satisfaction level of
the customer. Usually the customers give their vehicle in the morning before going to the office. Hence,
usually time is the essence here. Customers usually feel that as the workshop staff is technically
qualified hence the time spent for getting his vehicle into service is of no use. The anxiety level of the
customer increases exponentially with the increase in waiting time as he has a time-bound activity
planned after that (reaching office on time).
The subsequent interaction of the customer is with the Service Advisor of the workshop who is a

technical person. His responsibility is to understand the service needs of the customer and understand
the exact problems with the vehicle so that the same can be conveyed to the supervisor and technician
for necessary rectification. Hence, the Service Advisor is a vital link between the customer (who is facing
the problem) and the technician (who will rectify the problem). This is usually the first link of the
communication chain. As we know, the strength of the weakest link will decide the strength of the
entire chain.
The aspects of service which a customer would evaluate in this stage are:
1. When arrived at workshop, the time taken for someone to acknowledge his presence
2. Time spent waiting to speak to the Service Advisor
3. Overall performance of the Service Advisor
a. Understanding specific problems with the vehicle
b. Asking questions to clarify further needs
c. Listening to the customer
d. Behavior (Giving attention and treating with courtesy)
e. Knowledge and expertise
4. Overall opinion of facility

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a. Convenience of location
b. Cleanliness of facility
c. Convenience of days and hours of workshop operation

If there is a gap in understanding the customer and vehicle service requirements then it leads to a
snowballing effect which will increase the magnitude of problems during the delivery of the vehicle in
the evening. This is depicted pictorially above.

In-Service Experience
This stage is particularly applicable to the customers wait in the workshop premises while the vehicle is
being serviced. This is also a critical phase of the overall customer experience as most of the times either
his own vehicle or other customers’ vehicle is being seen by the customer while it is being serviced.
Hence, it has a significant impact on the confidence level of the customer as while giving the vehicle for
service, the customer is entrusting the care and safety of the vehicle to the workshop personnel. Time is
also the essence here as a customer who is waiting for the service to be completed will generally expect
the vehicle to be returned faster than a customer who has given his vehicle for serviced and gone back
to his office/ home.
But, whether the customer is waiting or not, he would definitely expect communication from the
workshop in case the vehicle requires additional repairs which may either attract additional cost or time
or both.
1. Comfort during the waiting period
2. Cleanliness of the waiting area

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3. Amenities available in the waiting area like beverages, TV, magazines etc.
4. Communication in case additional time or cost or both are required
If there is a lapse in the communication while the vehicle is in service, then it can also add to the
snowballing effect and lead to a bigger problem in the evening during vehicle delivery. This is also
depicted in the picture shown in the previous sub-section.

Service Delivery
This is the stage when the customer visits the workshop or waits and collects the vehicle after the
completion of service. Delivery is an important part of the entire link as it is a crucial opportunity to
make it up to the customer in the event of any lapse which may have happened while accepting the
vehicle. During the delivery, customer would expect the vehicle to be in a state better than when he left
the vehicle for servicing. This is the stage of service when the customer evaluates the fulfillment of all
promises made to him i.e. regarding time, cost and work. Here too the time is an important factor, but
the customer is not in as much hurry as he is likely to be when he leaves the vehicle for servicing in the
morning. But, as the customer makes payment for the services he has availed, he expects the value of
service he receives to be worth what he is paying for. Though the customer would be able to realize and
evaluate the quality of service completely after using the vehicle for a few days, he can very well
evaluate the basic aspects of service during the delivery itself.
This is the time when the customer again interacts with the Service Advisor and hence gets the
opportunity to complete his assessment.
1. Acknowledgement of customer’s arrival at workshop

2. Time taken to bring the vehicle after arrival of customer
3. Promptness of having vehicle ready when promised
4. Overall performance of Service Advisor
a. Honesty
b. Fulfillment of commitments
c. Behavior (Giving attention and treating with courtesy)
d. Knowledge and expertise
5. Explanation of work done
6. Explanation of charges/ bill amount
7. Cleanliness of vehicle
8. Fairness of charges
9. Thoroughness of fulfilling requests
10. Availability of parts for service
11. Overall opinion of facility

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a. Convenience of location
b. Cleanliness of facility
c. Convenience of days and hours of workshop operation
12. Dealer taking ownership of service to assure of any problems in future

Service Delivery is the last stage of service when physical interaction happens between the customer
and the workshop staff. After this, a physical interaction may be required only in the event of
requirement of any service recovery activity. On the other hand, if a customer experiences a lapse in
service at the time of delivery, then the service recovery activity may be required on-the-spot depending
on the time required for the activity and time available with the customer.

Post-Service Experience
This is the stage of the service when customer evaluates the quality of service by using the vehicle. Here,
there is no physical interaction between the customer and the workshop as the customer is all by
himself. This is a critical stage as when the customer takes delivery of vehicle after completion of service
he may not be able to completely evaluate the service performance. As most of the customers are not
technically competent, hence they may not be able to differentiate between product problem and
service problem. For few days (~ 1 month) after service, even if any problem crops up with the vehicle
due to product quality, the customer may attribute it to poor quality of service performed by the
workshop. On the other hand, as the customer is usually in a hurry during the delivery of the vehicle, he
may not be able to thoroughly evaluate the performance of the vehicle then. Hence, it becomes critical

to keep track of the customer for few days after service in order to assess the satisfaction of customer.
1. Ability to understand and diagnose problem mentioned
2. Quality of work performed
3. Trouble free operation
4. Ease of maintenance and repair
5. Dealership’s concern for service
6. Work done right first time

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MARUTI SERVICE PROCESS

The complete process from acceptance of vehicle to delivery in a Maruti service station is shown below:


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MEASURING & CLOSING THE GAPS
Customer satisfaction is defined as the gap between the performance of workshop and the expectations
of customer. The performance of workshop is the quality of service as “perceived” by the customer and
expectation is the customer’s “preconceived notion” of what he will get or what he deserves. As we can
see from the diagram below, even if a workshop delivers same quality to 2 different customers A & B,
one of them can be dissatisfied while the other can be satisfied depending on the difference in their
expectations.

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Thus it is important to strive to deliver higher levels of service quality in order to be able to match or
exceed the expectations of a significant majority of customers.
From the “Gaps model” we know that customer satisfaction/dissatisfaction (Gap-5: gap between the
expected and the perceived service) is a function of the other gaps (Gap 1 to 4) depicted in the chart


In order to improve customer satisfaction, it is important to measure it. Thus in this section, we will
understand how different gaps are measured by Maruti.

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Gap-1
This is the gap between the service expected by the customer and understanding of the same by the
organization. This gap can exist because of insufficient communication between the service provider and
the user/ service receiver. This can also happen because of lack of willingness of the management of an
organization to investigate customer expectations. If there is a gap in understanding, then it can lead to
wrong allocation of resources and hence wastages at the cost of customer satisfaction.
In Maruti, this gap is not measured directly by the company. The company relies on the annual
Customer Satisfaction Study done by M/s.JD Power. JD Power designs the customer satisfaction survey
by studying the various processes in a workshop. The various processes are clubbed under various
factors which serve as the common denominator for a group of processes. The factors are further
broken down into attributes which a customer expects or observes or experiences during the course of
service. After that sample customer study is conducted in the market to understand the importance
customers have for each of the attributes. The feedback of the sample of customers is then collated to
arrive at the average importance weights for each of the attributes which are further clubbed to derive
the weightages for each of the factors. The summation of factors further leads to the Customer
Satisfaction Index (CSI)

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In order to close the gap, this study to assess the importance of various service factors to customers is
done once in 5 years. The same is communicated by JD Power to all automobile companies in the
country. Maruti adopts the Customer Satisfaction study on similar lines and revises its design at the
same time when JD Power does. This is done in order to be able to compare the results of JD Power
study results with the internal study done by Maruti.
The design of JD power study in 2003, 2004, 2008 and 2009 is given below.


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As we can see from the pie-charts above the design of the study (i.e. factor weightages) remained the
same during 2004-2008 (i.e. 5 years). It was different in 2003 and was again modified in 2009.

Gap-2
This is the gap between the service provider’s perception of user’s expectations and the service
standards laid down by the company. This gap may exist because of unreasonable or unrealistic

expectations or lack of experience of the persons responsible for determining and setting the standards.
Maruti has developed Service Quality Standards (SQS) over the years in order to convert the
understanding of customer’s expectations to implementable processes. It is difficult to measure this gap
as it is difficult to directly quantify the defined processes. However, it is possible to gauge the
effectiveness of the processes and standards defined.
In Maruti, this gap is closed by continuously modifying the service standards based on internal customer
satisfaction surveys and external satisfaction surveys like that conducted by M/s.JD Power. Depending
on the feedback of customers and the importance they attach with the different aspects of service,
standards are developed by a department within the service Division dedicated for this purpose. The
standards and operating procedures are usually developed through either brainstorming or by
transferring best practices of workshops who would have already implemented some system with
success to live-up to the particular expectations of customers. The system thus decided are documented
in the SQS manual and communicated to workshops throughout the country for uniform
implementation.

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As we can see from the tables above, there were 15 Service Quality Standards (SQS) in 2003. Over the
years, based on customer’s evolving preferences and feedbacks, new SQS were developed and in 2008
there were 37 SQS i.e. 22 new standards were developed over a period of 5 years.
Thus it is important to continuously evolve new standards and modify existing standards to keep up with
the changing expectations of customers.
In each standard, few measures of performance haven been identified and benchmarks have been set
for all quantifiable

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aspects

Service Performance Benchmarks
These are the measurable aspects of the Service quality standards which are least expected from a
workshop. These standards are communicated and monitored for the entire workshop to quantify the
performance and target improvements. Based on customer feedbacks, the performance benchmarks
also undergo revision from time to time.

Gap-3
This is the gap between the service standards and the actual service delivery. This gap is all about the
implementation. The best of the systems may have been developed but because of human factor, it
leads to heterogeneity and hence this gap may arise.
In Maruti, this gap is measured by conducting SQS audits (once in a quarter) at workshops. These audits
usually last 2 full days as it requires a thorough audit of workshop systems. Based on the criticality of a
system, each parameter is attributed a weight and eventually a score out of 100 is calculated for each
workshop. In an SQS audit there are 2 components – Enablers and Results. Enablers are the audit points
which for systems while Results are the data incorporated from different sources of customer feedback.
The sample SQS audit form is shown below. The exhibit below shows the portion of the audit for SQS-
01: Vehicle returned clean. Similar audit is done for all the remaining standards.

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In order to close this gap, a workshop focuses on providing necessary resources (manpower, technology
etc.) and the softer aspects of hiring, retaining, developing and motivating manpower to get the best
adherence to systems.
The steps to close gap-3 are depicted in the chart below:

To take care of hiring the right people, there are basic qualifications laid down for hiring manpower in
workshops for eg. a Service Advisor should either be DAE or ITI with min. 5 years experience; Technician

should be min. ITI, Works Manager should be BE with min.3 years experience or DAE with min. 7 years
experience.
The measures to train the hired manpower are also laid down by Maruti. There are multiple layers of
technical trainings and specific soft skill trainings depending on the role. For eg. Technician should be
min. Basic and Advance trained, Service Advisor should be min. Basic, Advance and SA training
completed. Similarly Works Manager should have attended WM training apart from basic & Advance
training. However, the empowerment and team work depends on the workshop management culture.
The support systems are also provided through SQS and periodic audits. The technology and equipment
is also specified by Maruti for eg. there should be 1 computer and printer set for opening and closing
job-cards for every 10 working bays.
The practices to focus on manpower retention are however dependent totally on the workshop
management and are not much specified by Maruti except that the systems of incentives are suggestive.
In order make the workshop focus on the different aspects of the above-mentioned HR strategies, the
norms have been laid out in the Balanced Scorecard and an annual audit is performed to evaluate all
workshops. The workshops are then given incentives based on their overall performance in the audit.
This serves as an incentive for workshops to implement the systems and procedures suggested by
Maruti. The Balanced scorecard rates the dealership on a scale of 1000 points of which Service resources
and performance are evaluated on 355 points. Within this, Customer Satisfaction Index has a weightage
of 150 points i.e. more than 40% weightage.

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Gap-4
This gap exists because of the difference between actual service delivery and the external
communications and promises made by the service provider. Elevated claims or promises become the
standard for setting expectations and the standard against which they will be judged. Failure to deliver
can result from inaccurate marketing communications, lack of or poor coordination between marketing
and delivery personnel, and over promising. The external communications also lead to development of
customers’ expectations and perceptions.
In Maruti, this is captured through the different sources of customer feedbacks. Currently workshops
make explicit promises to customers in terms of quality of work, cost and time. In other areas, presently
there are not many explicit service guarantees made to customers except for the warranty support from
manufacturers.
This gap can be closed by:
1. Training and familiarizing manpower on the delivery capability of the service systems
2. Under-promising to customers to lower their expectations
3. Educating customers to reduce the gap due to erroneous interpretations


In order to train & familiarize employees Reduce Gap-4 Under Educated promise to customers
customers In order to train and familiarize manpower with the systems and the delivery capability,
Maruti conducts training on SQS standards, Service Advisor procedures etc. and workshops conduct
training to familiarize manpower with the operating procedures particular to the dealership.

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To under-promise customers, the Service Advisors and Marketing executives are imparted the necessary
training to keep cushion when promising customers. For example, Service Times have been
communicated to all dealers for the time taken for various services (with some cushion).
A sample is given below:

Customer education in Maruti is done through personal interactions like Customer Education Meets,
explanation before and after completion of work, and elaborate written material like Customer
Information Boards (used to convey the labour rate, spares cost and workshop details), warranty terms
and conditions. A Sample of the board is shown below:

Usually the communication gaps creeps up in warranty. Customers assume that all repairs are covered
under the warranty clause till the validity of the policy. However by clearly mentioning the clauses in
Owner’s Manual and explaining the same during the delivery of new vehicle, this gap can be reduced.

21

A sample of a detailed warranty policy the same is appended above showing what customers are usually
aware of and what needs to be communicated in order to reduce the gasp while handling warranty.

Gap-5 (Customer Gap)
This is the gap which is a function of the above mentioned 4 gaps. From a customer’s point of view this
is the most important gap which leads to dissatisfaction. It can be taken care of by taking care of rest of
the gaps. This is the gap between the customer’s perception and expectation. Perceptions are usually
formed after or during the course of the service, while expectations are usually formed either before or
during the course of the service. However, every customer has a zone of tolerance which is defined as
the gap between the expectations of ideal service and minimum tolerable expectations.
This is measured through various customer feedback collection systems. The various stages of a typical
service process and different feedbacks collection points are depicted below:

Among the above feedbacks, except 42-point MSIL feedback, all other feedbacks are requested from
100% customers. The 42-point MSIL feedback is sent to 200 customers per workshop per quarter. As the
34-point and 42-point feedbacks are received back by the workshop and Maruti respectively through
post, hence the feedback receipt is not 100%. 34-point feedbacks are received back from usually ~15%
customers while 42-point feedbacks receipt is ~25%. On the other hand, the other feedbacks are
received from more than 90% customers.
Customer lounge feedback is collected from the customers who wait and avail the lounge facility till the
service of their vehicle is completed.
Instant feedback card is collected from customers at the time of delivery of the vehicle after showing the
customer his vehicle and after completing the necessary explanation of work and charges, but before

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the payment of bill or while payment of the bill. The intention is to know the first quick impression of
the customer after completion of service in order to get an opportunity to understand and rectify the
customer dissatisfaction on-the-spot regarding few basic critical aspects.
The 34-point feedback card is given to customers at the time of delivery of the vehicle alongwith a pre-
stamped envelope. This is a comprehensive feedback and customer is requested to send the feedback
after a week of usage of vehicle i.e. after duly assessing the performance of the vehicle for a
considerable period of time.
The 42-point feedback card is sent by Maruti to customers after 1 month of completion of service in
order to get a comprehensive direct feedback about the service provided by channel.

The format is appended above. This feedback form is similar to the 34-point feedback card.

Post Service followup is the only telephonic mode of collecting feedback. A call is made to all customers
on the 6th day after the completion of service. This feedback mode is used to gain candid feedback from
all customers as the other comprehensive written feedbacks cover only a small sample of customers. In
order to know the true feedback, the call is made by Customer Care Executive (CCE) instead of the
Service Advisor. The script used by CCEs is given below:

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There are 2 ways to close this gap:
1. Proactive way – This is presently done by compiling and analyzing feedbacks and taking actions on a
monthly basis. The feedbacks are also shared with the workshop employees in order to sensitize
them towards customers. Countermeasures are taken in order to plug the gaps permanently.

2. Reactive way – This is presently done through various methods of service recovery. Depending
on customers’ convenience and the nature of problem, the customer is either attended at workshop
or at his premises. The complaints are analyzed and corrective & preventive actions taken are
recorded. The format for analysis of negative feedback received through 42-point MSIL feedback is
appended below.

MAPPING SATISFACTION CATEGORIES

Satisfaction Categories
All activities in a workshop which a customer experiences can be segregated under 3 satisfaction
categories.
1. Monovalent Dissatisfiers – These are the hygiene factors/ must-be requirements as per Kano’s model
in the absence of which a customer would be dissatisfied but the presence does not contribute to
satisfaction.
2. Bivalent Satisfiers – These are the satisfiers as per Kano’s model in the presence of which a customer
would be satisfied while the absence would lead to dissatisfaction.
3. Monovalent Satisfiers – There are the delighters as per Kano’s model in the absence of which a

customer would not be dissatisfied but the presence will satisfy a customer i.e. have positive impact on
customer’s mind.
The different activities under the 3 satisfaction categories are shown below. At Maruti, an SQS has been
developed in order to set the procedures and standards for each satisfaction attribute. The SQS
corresponding to each attribute also mapped below.

24

In the above chart, the impact has been calculated through the customer satisfaction survey done by JD
Power.

Meeting expectations
The various steps adopted to meet the expectations of customers against each attribute are given

below. Each of the attributes has also been mapped with the corresponding dimension(s) of SERVQUAL
model of service quality (RATER system).

25


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CHALLENGES
The entire aspect of managing customer satisfaction on an on-going basis is a very challenging task. This
is because the entire scenario of managing customer satisfaction is quite dynamic and hence is changing
continuously. The various challenges faced by Maruti workshops in managing customer satisfaction in
the current scenario are given below.

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Customer
The preferences and expectations of customers are changing very fast. It requires faster understanding
and quicker response of workshops to the changing customer expectations. What earlier used to be the
delighters are now the services expected by customers. Now, it is more difficult to delight customers.
Customer’s expectations are changing due to increased globalization and also increased exposure to
other services which has a rub-off effect on the customer expectations. With other services increasingly
offering service guarantees like Dominos offering pizza delivery service within 30 mins or free, it
becomes increasingly important for automobile service to also adopt such practices in order to exceed
customer satisfaction and gain loyalty of customers.
Moreover, as we can see from the above chart, in automobiles the customer satisfaction has to be
extremely high in order to convert it to loyalty as compared with other industries.

Competitor
The competitors of Maruti are also catching up fast. The competitors are the other authorized set-ups
like Hyundai, Tata and unauthorized setups like Car-nation multi-brand service. Competitors have the
advantage of trained labour pool as it is the second mover and hence shortens the learning period thus
reducing the cost of dissatisfaction.
As per the JD Power survey results for the last 9 years, even though the OEM service has been catching
up with Maruti service, only Maruti used to be the company above the industry average but last year
many companies have caught up with Maruti. The same is depicted in the CSI results below for 2
different years (2004 and 2009).


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As we can see from the graphs above, while Maruti has improved over the years by 11 points, the
industry average has improved by 27 points. In 2004, Maruti was having a gap of 81 points over its
nearest competitor whereas in 2009 the gap has reduced to 33 points.
Earlier, the multi-brand setups used to small roadside workshops where only those customers who
were worried about cost used to go. The car owners who were conscious of quality and reliability had
not much choice and were forced to approach authorized workshops for fulfilling their car service
needs. But now, even multi-brand car service setups have become more professional and organized due
to entry of players like Car-nation, Bosch and Reliance auto who provide similar service at a cheaper
cost.

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