Total Dealer Compliance shows the impact of offering a clear complaint resolution has on sales and reputation

Total Dealer Compliance (TDC), a car dealership compliance-auditing firm, today announced key findings from its latest auto dealership survey conducted online in September among 200 U.S. adults age 18+. With over thirty percent of respondents revealing that they have submitted a complaint to a dealership, the survey sets out to illustrate the importance of offering a clear complaint resolution process to consumers. Such importance further illustrated when sixty percent of consumers admitted that they were more likely to buy a car from a dealer if that process is apparent.

Unsurprisingly, among the survey’s key findings are results indicating that over fifty-five percent of consumers who have submitted a complaint were dissatisfied with the resolution provided. When asked what the biggest pain point was when submitting a complaint to a car dealership, over fifty percent said it was the car dealerships’ obvious lack of desire to resolve the issue. With the industry recognized for unfair, deceptive, and abusive practices, nearly eighty percent of respondents believe that customer satisfaction is of utmost importance to the dealership when they have a clearly stated complaint resolution process.

“Compliance and customer satisfaction go hand in hand. A clear complaint resolution process that is overseen by a compliance officer is the most effective approach to resolving customer complaints,” said Max Zanan, President of TDC. “Sheds a spotlight on why TDC audits and compliance training can help improve policies and procedures and positively impact customer satisfaction.”

Highlights from the consumer survey include:

• Over 30% of consumers have submitted a complaint to a dealership.
• Of those who have submitted a complaint, over 55% of consumers were dissatisfied with the resolution provided.
• Nearly 60% of consumers are more likely to buy a car if there is a clearly stated Complaint Resolution process.
• Nearly 80% of respondents think that customer satisfaction is of utmost importance to the dealership if they have a clearly stated Complaint Resolution process.
• Over 50% of consumers said that the biggest pain point when submitting a complaint to a car dealership is the dealerships’ obvious lack of desire to resolve issue.
• Nearly 75% of consumers submit complaints by calling their dealership over submitting a complaint online.

“Currently either a General Manager or a General Sales Manager handles customer complaints, which is counter-productive as it is hard to be objective especially when your salary depends on commissions from sales. A Compliance Officer is better equipped to handle complaints because their main objective is to protect the dealership,” said Zanan. “State and Federal agencies do not start investigating a car dealership for no reason, and we are delighted to offer a solution that will help dealerships avoid unnecessary headaches and expenses.”