kebe

I've seen bits and pieces of this mentioned on other threads, but I'm starting this one so I can see people's responses in one place. April, your dealer clue may help here.

I picked up my A4 3.0QM today (love it so far, BTW), and before we left, our sales rep. asked us to make sure we fill out the survey with all 5s. She seemed uncomfortable asking us, as if she was forced to by her sales manager, but I'm not sure what to think

I'm kinda insulted by this, to be honest. I never give perfects unless I've been stunned with above-and-beyond service. I got really good services, but not all-5s. I saw somewhere that a '4' equates to 40%, not the expected 80%. What rocket f*cking scientist came up with this scheme, and who do we complain to.

I'm very tempted to call my dealer's Sales Manager, and bitch to him. I'm not pulling punches on anything just because someone asked. I want to know the real reason for this.

Dan ('02 3.0 Denim Blue QM)

Ralphie

Call AoA and tell them what you think of the marking scheme.

van-a4-01

:I'm kinda insulted by this, to be honest. I never give perfects unless I've been stunned with above-and-beyond service.

Absolutely same approach here. But I wouldn't take it too close to the heart - just give that saleswoman her bonus, will ya ? Maybe she'll cut your even better deal next time.

I agree though that she might've put it more tactfully - in my case salesperson actually explained how important that survey is for her and how it affects her getting an annual bonus (which is comparable to the base salary). Apparently if the survey shows customer satisfaction lower than 96%, then bonus is not given :-/

Such marking system is certainly stupid and leaves no place for praising really outstanding sales jobs. But there are worse things than this

RogDog

you could be perfectly satisfied with the service you received and tell the survey person that you received "very good" service or a "4". But the way the system is set up by Audi, the dealer doesn't really get any credit unless they receive "excellent" ratings or a "5". A lot of people will only give a 5 if they think the service was above and beyond the call of duty, but what if there really wasn't an opportunity to go above and beyond? Should the dealer be punished with a 4 if they merely did everything perfect without fanfare?

A lot of service departments for VW and Audi have a sign asking to be informed if you feel for any reason you cannot give them a 5 rating.

I'd say don't be mad at the sales person or the dealership. They simply need you to know that a 4 doesn't do them much good in Audi's rating system. If you have a problem with it, you need to call AoA and let them know how you feel--the dealer is simply stuck with the system.

As for me, I give my dealer 5 ratings as long as they don't screw up. I don't expect pampering and schmoozing, if they're merely competent, I'm happy to give the 5. If I really do get exceptional service, I'll write a letter to the dealership letting them know.

April

to do with the dealership or AoA. It's just a big shell game for all manufacturers. Also, certain models and brands have happier buyers. The general rule is the harder the bargainer, the less happy they are.

Yes, a 4 out of 5 is 40%. The culmulative scores for sales and service reflect on the dealership. AoA does use the numbers to distribute bonuses to both individuals and dealerships.

The survey means very little in the big scheme. The only passing grade is a 5. If you can't do that, at least let them know why. If some aspect of the service was not acceptable, write a short letter and mail copies to the sales manager, general manager, dealer principle, and AoA customer service.

udaman

It's just a way of seeing if your salesperson did there job, so if they did then you should give them the high marks.They are working stiffs just like the rest of us, of course I am speaking for myself here. I have never had a problem with a salesperson other than they didn't know as much as I did (LOL).

kebe

Well, after seeing some followups here, I called the sales manager and he more-or-less confirmed the data here, except for one thing.

The sales manager claims it's AoA that sets the 5 == pass, and < 5 == fail bar.

So I guess my only question is who do I bitch to?

Dan

wjkomo

I agree totally. I think if they were so concerned with getting 5's the sales reps should sit down early in the process and ask the customer, "what service are you looking for from me that would lead to you giving me a 5?", and then go out and earn the 5.

Trying to influence peoples responses in any kind of survey, makes the survey worthless. In this case, instead of measuring customer satisfaction, this survey is just as much measuring how effective the sales person is at convincing the customer through guilt or pressure to give them the 5.

FirstQuattro

i posted my experience before.
you give them lousy scores now, they give you sh*t
later when you ask for help. because what you did
on survey is saved in their computer. AoA releases
it to them. maybe they will get a copy of your complain letter with your signature on it too :-(

April

They can use numbers or words like excellent, etc. The numbers go to JD Power who does the survey for Audi ( it's a standardized service JD offers to all manufacturers, of which most take them up on it for marketing BS ).

Managers, dealer principle and AoA are all good bets.