OK Tire ranks highest in satisfying automotive customers in Canada with the service establishment experience, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2008 Canadian Customer Commitment Index Study released today.

The study provides a measure of the service satisfaction and loyalty of owners of 2- to 12-year-old vehicles. Overall customer satisfaction with vehicle service providers is determined by examining five key factors: appointment/check-in, service advisor, work quality, after-service and customer orientation. The study examines customer satisfaction with both dealerships and after-market facilities.

OK Tire achieves an overall index score of 902 on a 1,000-point scale and performs particularly well in work quality and customer orientation-two of the most important drivers of customer satisfaction. Petro-Canada (Centigram) follows OK Tire in the rankings with a score of 886, while Autopro ranks third overall with 881.

The study finds that customer satisfaction with the service experience has risen steadily-up from 826 points in 2004 to 850 points in 2008. The improvement in 2008 is driven by increased satisfaction in the customer orientation, service advisor and work quality factors.

"In addition to improvements in various measures of dealer performance, satisfaction with service delivered by new-car dealers in particular also increased," said Adrian Chung, manager of automotive syndicated research at J.D. Power and Associates. "This suggests that service centers across the industry are listening to their customers, and putting more focus on improving the overall service experience."

The study finds that 2- to 12-year-old vehicles account for nearly 70 percent of all vehicles in Canada in 2008. Owners within this category spend an average of $860 annually on service and repairs, creating substantial revenue potential for all types of service establishments.

"Satisfaction with the service experience is essential to increasing customer loyalty, which can have considerable impact on the bottom line for a service establishment," said Chung. "In fact, with more than 13 million 2- to 12-year-old vehicles on the road in Canada and vehicle owners spending an average of $860 per year, a one-percentage-point increase in share of service visits for either after-market or new-car dealers can potentially lead to a $110 million increase in annual revenue."

The study also finds that share of service occasions accounted for by the various types of service establishments-including new car dealerships, independent repair shops, quick lubes, tire specialists, auto specialists and mass merchants-shifted slightly in 2008 compared with 2007, with new-car dealers losing market share. The most noteworthy drop in share for new-car dealers was among owners of 2- to 3-year-old vehicles, declining from 75 percent in 2007 to 73 percent in 2008.

The study also finds the following automotive service customer trends:
- While the average cost per service occasion has increased by 7 percent since the 2004 study, the most noteworthy increase in cost was among quick lubes (up 19 percent), tire specialists (up 14 percent) and service stations (up 13 percent).

- Among customers who report being highly committed to their service center, nearly 94 percent report they will return to the establishment for service and 84 percent say they will definitely recommend the establishment. Conversely, only 17 percent of customers with low commitment say they will return for service, and less than 12 percent say they "definitely will" give a recommendation.

- Highly committed customers give nearly six positive recommendations to family and friends, compared with just fewer than three positive recommendations among customers with medium commitment.

The 2008 Canadian Customer Commitment Index Study is based on responses from 17,114 owners of 2- to 12-year-old vehicles. The study was fielded between December 2007 and May 2008.