Quality/Initial Satisfaction Surveys?

[Tom H]

Hey kids,

Does Volvo or any of the independant companies, such as JD Powers & Associates, send out written quality surveys after the purchase of a new Volvo? I've been used to getting them over the years from the likes of Toyota and Honda. I did receive a phone survey when we purchased the S60 back in August but that was primarily geared towards the dealerships performance. I didn't received any calls on the XC70 purchase. The JD powers survey for example, is a very in depth, 4 to 6 page questionair that probes deep into the buyers perception of all aspects of initial ownership. Topics include, build quality, performance, features, percieved value for the money, likes and dislikes, troubles and company responce to troubles, customer service, dealership performance, and on and on. Many of the quality oriented manufacturers such as Toyota and Honda rely heavily on the data collected to make product improvements. If volvo doesn't offer up such a survey, how is it that we the customer actually get heard? Maybe the lack of such a survey is why some problems such as the ill-fitting spline gear in the steering system go on for 5 years of production without a re-design of a $2.00 part. It is a shame that we can't use an oustanding forum such as this to collectively communicate both our likes and dislikes directly to volvo. Wouldn't it be unique for a manufacturer to actively solicit customer input as a factor in thier design and manufacturing plans.
Maybe we should create our own survey form, have all the forum members fill it out, tally it up and send the results off to Volvo. Praise the features we love and inform them of the features or build issues that we would like to see included or changed. Then again, it may that the number of members on this forum are of little statistical significance in the overall scope of Volvo's sales. Just my .02.

Any thoughts?

[gary]

Tom,

When I purchased my U.S. spec XC70 through the Volvo Military Sales program in Germany, I did receive an "after-purchase" survey of sorts. One problem though - it was in German (and my German is by no means great). So...to answer your question - I can assume that at least Volvo Germany has a questionnaire/survey. I thought there was a site that was linked to the www.volvocars.com site that would allow you to give customer feedback but I can't find it. I do like you're idea though of creating our own survey form.
It'll be interesting to see the responses from other members.

[gibbons]

I got a JD Powers, but way too soon after having purchased the car. It took some time for the rainsensor and information screen selector rotory knob to really get on my nerves, and the survey was long gone by then.

As far as the Volvo dealership survey went, the dealer coached me to give them all 10's on every category. With "grade inflation", a less than 10 apparently looks really bad on their report card. I neglected to pass that request along to my wife, and they called when I was gone. In our family, nothing is ever "perfect 10", you can always do a little better. So, she gave the pollster 8's and 9's. She was so proud for giving them good marks :). When I found out, I told the dealer, and boy, was he mad! I called Volvo and told them I wanted to revise it, that I bough the car and drive it, not my wife. They told me too late, it was in the books.

[Tom H]

I got a JD Powers, but way too soon after having purchased the car. It took some time for the rainsensor and information screen selector rotory knob to really get on my nerves, and the survey was long gone by then.



Gibbons, Do you recall how soon after your purchase that you got the JD Powers? Maybe I'm complaining prematurely. I sure would like to cast my vote to Volvo. I've had the XC long enough now to begin to develop a clear line between it's excellent features, of which there are many, and it's weaker areas. Thank God there are only a few a those but they are significant.

Tom

[Firstbrick]

Gibbons, I guess I would tend to side with you wife. For a dealership to achieve a 10 score on their surveys, they would have to exceed all of my expectations. With my limited dealer experience, I would say that a 10 score is rare. If they want a 10, they should earn it, not “request” it.

[Tom H]

Gibbons, I guess I would tend to side with you wife. For a dealership to achieve a 10 score on their surveys, they would have to exceed all of my expectations. With my limited dealer experience, I would say that a 10 score is rare. If they want a 10, they should earn it, not “request” it.

Firstbrick, I honestly have to say the dealership where I finally purhased my XC was very close to a 10. It was the most unusual car buying experience that I have ever encountered, and I have purchase a rather large number of new vehicles in my time here. I kept waiting for the hammer to drop on me but it never did. Sure I can find a few very, very minor points that could have improved but it was clear to me that these guys actually do put a lot of focus on getting at least the initial customer satisfacton rating. There were many positive points in the sale but one that sruck me as different was that I agreed to a very acceptable and low 3.9%/60 mo. finance rate. After they ran my credit history they came back and offered an even lower 3.4%/60 mo. rate because my credit rating was as high as it can get. They didn't have to do that. They could have gone ahead and kept more of my money. I haven't tried the service yet because of the distance but my sales rep ranted on about how good they were and promised that I would not be dissapointed.

[Firstbrick]

Tom H., I’m happy to hear about your excellent purchase experience. We were in the used market so my experience with the local dealer could not be compared to the new car purchase. However, we ended up finding our car @ a used car dealership in Findlay, OH and we had an exceptional experience.

I say let the surveys do what there designed to do…improve the quality of the owner to dealer relationship. If the dealership receives a low mark they should be looking for internal problems. For a dealer to get “mad” at a customer is just plain wrong.

[gibbons]

Firstbrick, my dealer yanked me around on a deal they offered that was aimed at them getting some monthly quota. My mother-in-law passed away on the 28th, and I thought it would be a little insensitive to break away from family matters to buy a new car. On November 2nd, they said the price went up. I said fine, I was only buying the car for fun anyway, I had OK cars and didn't "need" it. I told him to call me when they got hungry again.

They got hungry around Thanksgiving, but the car I wanted was gone. But a new one was coming on Dec 6. I told them I would take it. I told them to leave the paper on the hood an roof, plastic on the seats, and don't even think about washing it or putting dressing on the cladding or tires. I told them if they did, I wouldn't take it. They thought (rightfully so) that I am a weirdo, whatever. They checked the oil and airpressure, did the paperwork, and put the temporary tags on it. While driving down to get it, my wife had an anxiety attack over writing a check that big. I called the dealer and told him that I had to cancel the deal, but I would pay the $299 documentation fee for their hassle.

The dealer could have been really angry, but was nice about it. Overnight my wife recovered, and I went crawling back. They were still nice and the deal was smooth. I am email-pals with the salesman.

Because of their accomodation of my weird requests, and handling of me yanking them around, I thought they actually are 10 guys.

[Morvran]

yeah, I think that asking someone to give them all "10s" is just silly. My salesperson did that with both cars we bought from him. Both times I said, "Sure thing!", but I knew that when I recieved the survey i wouldn't be able to give all top scores. It's just not the way I operate...I'm a teacher afterall. There's almost always room for improvement. Of course they never did send me their surveys, which is odd.

I did get a JD Power survey though, about three months after I'd bought our 2004.5 S40.

[John@CdnRockies]

Must admit that while I did not receive a survey, our car's preparadness would have rated it very close to the proverbial "10". We have never acquired a car which was delivered to this level of perfection, even after owning 8 Toyotas, a BMW and Mercedes.

John

[hd70]

We picked-up our car 11 June 04 and I received a Survey from "Volvo Gothenburg", dated 27 July 04. It stated a website to visit (http://online.tns-global.com/wi/p69433413/ctl.asp) and had a sticker on it with a user name and password.

It also said "... in case you have any queries, please contact the company hosting this survey":

Linda Karlsson
TNS Automotive
PO Box 14093
S-40020 Gothenburg, Sweden
e-mail: [email protected].

I told them about a few issues I had but never received a reply to it.

[DrJazz]

When I bought my 2003 V40 in December of 03, I remember receiving a detailed questionairre maybe 3 to 6 months later. I just bought my 2004 XC70 two months ago and have yet to receive a similar survey, but it's still early.

[TrueBlue]

It would be a lot more profitable (to the essence of a survey) if they were sent out to people who did NOT buy a car after initial sales contact (of course difficult to capture customer details).

Could be much more revealing..

[budrichard]

I personnally believe that these 'surveys' are crap and only designed to delude the buyer into thinking that someone cares! I have told Volvo and my dealership, when I have a problem, you will hear about it, until then, don't contact me. I have also asked to view the results of the so called 'surveys' and in each instance, I was told that information was not available. -Dick

[AWD*V70XC]

I have also asked to view the results of the so called 'surveys' and in each instance, I was told that information was not available. -Dick

That sounds like the bloody DATA PROTECTION ACT we have in the EU now, they are quick enough to take from you but when you want to review it, you come up against $$$'s and big brick walls that are deaf.