Slight Drop in American Customer Satisfaction Index
17 August 1999
Decline in Satisfaction With Automobiles Drives Slight Drop in American Customer Satisfaction Index AMERICAN CUSTOMER SATISFACTION INDEX ASCI is the national index of satisfaction with quality, compiled by measuring customer satisfaction with a representative 34 industries in seven sectors of the economy. It is updated on a rolling basis with new data for one or two sectors each quarter replacing data collected in the prior year. The national index dropped 0.6 of a point on a 0-100 scale in the second quarter of 1999. (PRNewsFoto)[DM] MILWAUKEE, WI USA 08/16/1999 MILWAUKEE, Aug. 16 -- Customer satisfaction with manufactured
durables has fallen slightly, according to the most recent findings of the
American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). The first drop in satisfaction
with automobiles, vans and light trucks in over three years helped push down
both the manufacturing durables index and the national index, which are
reported on 0 to 100 scales. Nationally, ACSI dropped 0.6 of a point during
the first six months of 1999 -- from 72.6 to 72.0. The decline offset gains
in customer satisfaction made in 1998. ACSI for manufactured durables has
gone from 77.9 to 77.3 (-0.6).
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19990816/MNM003 )
The ACSI manufacturing durables index includes results from the personal
computer, automobile/van/light truck, household appliance and consumer
electronics industries. While the automobile industry experienced a slight
drop in customer satisfaction, household appliances held steady and both the
consumer electronics and personal computer industries enjoyed increases in
customer satisfaction.
VW's new bug scores, but luxury leads the way. Service satisfaction lags
product satisfaction. Automotive sales are good despite the slight downturn
in satisfaction. Volkswagen demonstrated what a hot new product that catches
on with the public can do. VW made the major gain in satisfaction of any
automotive manufacturer (+5.1%). The satisfaction of Saturn customers, with
no recent major changes in its product, went the other way (-5.9%).
Although production technology is closing the gap between economy and
luxury cars in terms of defects per car, luxury brands such as BMW, Mercedes
Benz, Buick and Cadillac lead the way in overall customer satisfaction.
"These vehicles offer sophisticated systems that create a greater sense of
safety, pleasure and reliability, while simultaneously reinforcing the value
proposition that buyers are getting more for their money," said Joe O'Leary,
partner, Arthur Andersen Business Consulting's Integrated Customer Solutions.
"Because of significantly larger margins in the luxury car market, customer
loyalty is more important in this segment. Accordingly, luxury car
manufacturers tend to have stronger customer management programs in place."
ACSI measures customer satisfaction with both the service and product
components of manufacturing durables. "With service quality trailing product
quality by four points, it's imperative that manufacturers and dealers, in
particular, step up their customer management programs," according to O'Leary.
"Dealers need to build lasting, trusting relationships with their customers,
starting with the sale and carrying through to ensuring the reliability of
after-sales service and the convenience of recall management programs."
Personal computers continue resurgence. After an eight-point drop in the
industry's customer satisfaction ratings from 1994 to 1997, personal computer
manufacturers responded with an increased commitment to long-term
relationships with customers and improved perceptions of value. Like
Volkswagen in the automotive industry with a popular new product, Apple
Computer scored with its iMac, helping to push company satisfaction up 4.3%.
Led by manufacturers such as Dell and Gateway, the industry has since
enjoyed a two-year rise in customer satisfaction. "Lower prices across the
board have increased perceptions of value, and the ability to order customized
computer products and to access convenient technical support have increased
customer loyalty and retention," said Claes Fornell, professor, University of
Michigan Business School. "This scenario should only improve as computer
manufacturers continue to expand service offerings with Internet access and
software bundling." "These results provide another indication that the
competition in quality is increasingly being waged in the service arena," said
Jack West, American Society for Quality, "and that companies can capture
increased market share and margins by offering enhanced services."
Electronics manufacturers offer more choice, better value to customers.
An increase in the availability of diverse, high-quality products at
reasonable prices has led to a four-point increase in the ACSI for the
consumer electronics industry, the biggest improvement throughout the
manufactured durables sector.
"Technology continues to improve, bringing with it better products and
more choices for the consumer," said Jack West. "Combined with improved
customer service at the retail level, these trends have led to a relatively
large increase in the American public's perception of value offered by
consumer electronics." The four-point increase restores the consumer
electronics industry to its previous ASCI high of 83, recorded in 1994.
Household appliances maintain a high standard. With relatively high
overall product quality and consistently superior service quality, the
household appliance industry continues to enjoy exceptionally high overall
customer satisfaction levels. While customer satisfaction is often affected
by changing consumer needs and higher expectations that lead to increased
product customization, price fluctuations and ACSI, fragmentation of buyers,
these trends have yet to take hold in the household appliance industry.
The American Customer Satisfaction Index is the only uniform,
cross-industry indicator in the United States that links customer satisfaction
of U.S. household customers with company performance. The index measures the
satisfaction of U.S. household customers with the quality of goods and
services available to them -- both those produced within the U.S. and those
imported from foreign firms that have a substantial market share of dollar
sales. This key economic indicator, produced through a partnership of the
University of Michigan Business School, the American Society for Quality (ASQ)
and Arthur Andersen, helps companies determine and understand what drives
customer satisfaction and loyalty, and their relationship to bottom-line
financial results. Using information derived from ACSI data, companies can
focus initiatives that will have an impact on and improve customer
satisfaction.
The American Customer Satisfaction Index is updated on a rolling basis
with one or two sectors of the economy measured each quarter.
All company scores from 1994 through the second quarter of 1999 are
available on the following websites: http://acsi.asq.org and
http://www.bus.umich.edu
American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI Ratings)
Sector/Industry 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 2Q99
National ACSI 74.5 73.7 72.2 71.1 72.3 72.0
Manufacturing/Durables 79.2 79.8 78.8 78.4 77.9 77.3
Consumer electronics
(TV and VCR) 83 81 81 80 79 83
Major household appliances
(washer, dryer, stove,
refrigerator, dishwasher 85 82 82 80 83 82
Automobiles/vans/light trucks 79 80 79 79 79 78
Personal computers 78 75 73 70 71 72
The 90% confidence interval for the national ACSI is plus or minus 0.2 on
a scale of 0-100. This means that a difference in the national ACSI score
greater than 0.3 between any two points in time is statistically significantly
greater than could be caused by sampling error. The confidence interval for
the Manufacturing/Durables sector is plus or minus 0.4. A difference in its
ACSI score at any two points in time greater than 0.6 is statistically
significant.
ACSI by Company -- On average, differences in company ACSIs, or
differences for the same company in different years, of three points are
statistically significantly greater than could be caused by sampling error at
the 90% confidence level. (See next chart).
ACSI by Company
(in descending order of customer satisfaction in 1999 within industry)
Industry/Company 1998 1999 % Change '98-99
Automobiles/Vans/Light
Truck Industry 79 78 -1.3
BMW of North America 86 86 0.0
General Motors-Buick 84 86 +2.4
DaimlerChrysler-Mercedes Benz 86 86 0.0
General Motors-Cadillac 88 85 -3.4
Honda Motor 81 83 +2.5
Toyota Motor 85 83 -2.4
Ford-Lincoln/Mercury 83 82 -1.2
Volkswagen of America 78 82 +5.1
General Motors-GMC 78 81 +3.8
General Motors-Oldsmobile 82 81 -1.2
General Motors-Saturn 85 80 -5.9
Volvo Cars of North America 81 80 -1.2
DaimlerChrysler-Chrysler/Plymouth 80 79 -1.3
Nissan Motor USA 77 79 +2.6
General Motors-Pontiac 76 78 +2.6
DaimlerChrysler-Jeep/Eagle 77 77 0.0
Ford-Ford 77 77 0.0
General Motors-Chevrolet/GEO 79 76 -3.8
Mazda North America 77 76 -1.3
DaimlerChrysler-Dodge 78 75 -3.8
Hyundai Motor America 72 68 -5.6
All others 74 76 +2.7
Personal Computers 71 72 +1.4
Dell Computer 74 76 +2.7
Gateway 2000 76 76 0.0
Hewlett-Packard 72 74 +2.8
IBM 74 73 -1.4
Apple Computer 69 72 +4.3
Compaq Computer 72 71 -1.4
Packard Bell Electronics 67 66 -1.5
All others 69 69 0.0
Household Appliances (Major) 83 82 -1.2
Kenmore (manufactured by several companies) NM 85 NA
Maytag 84 84 0.0
Whirlpool 85 84 -1.2
General Electric 80 80 0.0
All others 69 69 0.0
Consumer Electronics/TV and VCR
(aggregate of 7 largest companies) 79 83 +5.1
On average, differences in company's ACSIs, or differences for the same
company in different years, of 3 points are statistically significantly
greater than could be caused by sampling error at the 90% confidence level.
The 90% confidence interval for the national ACSI is plus or minus 0.2 on a
scale of 0-100. This means that a difference in the national ACSI score
greater than 0.3 between any two points in time is statistically significantly
greater than could be caused by sampling error. The confidence interval for
the Manufacturing/Durables sector is plus or minus 0.4. A difference in its
ACSI score at any two points in time greater than 0.6 is statistically
significant.
