Study Finds Major Gap in Trust and Customer Satisfaction in the Collision Repair Experience

SAN DIEGO -- July 29, 2014: AudaExplore™, the US business unit of Solera Holdings Inc. and a leading global data-driven solution provider to insurance carriers, repairers, dealerships, fleet owners and suppliers, today released a study showing a major gap in trust and customer satisfaction in repair shops and insurance carriers. The study found that collision repair technicians are less trusted than many other professions and that almost half (48 percent) of consumers surveyed believe that repair shops sometimes, rarely or never provide great customer service. Insurance companies didn’t fare much better, with only 22 percent of respondents saying carriers decreased their stress level after a car accident. There is a clear consensus that repair shops and insurance carriers must improve in the areas of communications, trust and price.

“By leveraging advanced data and technology to manage customer expectations, insurance carriers and repairers can keep customers informed, making repairers more trusted and helping to better manage the difficult price conversation.”

“With increased competition, employee turnover, evolving vehicles, digitally empowered consumers and endless streams of data, the relationship between customers and companies has changed dramatically,” explains Adam Vasquez, VP Marketing, AudaExplore. “We are living in the Era of Disruption, and providing a great customer experience is more important than ever. In this new era, it’s not just about the number of shops or the size of your network; it’s about building trust with constant communication and transparency throughout the repair process.”

Communications

When it comes to delivering a great customer experience, communication is the driving force. According to the survey, respondents find timely electronic updates valuable, with more than one in three wishing they received these more often. In fact:

74 percent say they would like to better understand the work their repair shop is doing. 62 percent say that it would be very or somewhat valuable to receive timely electronic status updates, such as email alerts, text messages, or social media notifications during the repair process. Being kept informed on progress of repairs ranked highest (4.2 on a scale of 1-5) among a list of eight customer desires. Trust

Out of five professions (teacher, doctor, law enforcement, automotive collision repair technician and lawyer) collision repair technicians rank second to last on the trust scale. Twenty-eight percent of those polled reported trusting collision repair technicians the least. In addition:

Only half of those surveyed believe that repair shops always or often provide the most qualified technicians. Less than half (49 percent) believe technicians always or often perform only repairs that are necessary. Cost

Overall, respondents would like more accurate estimates and better premiums, and they don’t believe insurance providers are doing a satisfactory job in this area.

Only 34 percent of those surveyed believe a fair price is charged always or often. Almost half (46 percent) of respondents say that repair shops sometimes, rarely or never deliver a final price that matches the original estimate. For insurance carriers, more than one-third (34 percent) of those surveyed say they would like more accurate collision repair estimates. “The research shows that there is a gap today with customer expectations that is having a negative impact on insurance carrier and repair shop business,” continued Vasquez. “By leveraging advanced data and technology to manage customer expectations, insurance carriers and repairers can keep customers informed, making repairers more trusted and helping to better manage the difficult price conversation.”

This study sheds light on some of the present issues in the collision repair industry, unveiling that ultimately, communications is the driving force behind customer satisfaction. By solving these challenges, customers will not only be more informed and trusting, but companies will position themselves to be successful in a competitive marketplace.

For more details about the study, please visit Collision Repair Insights.

Methodology

The Insight on the Collision Repair Experience Study was conducted by ORC International’s CARAVANŽ Omnibus services and was based on phone interviews of over 1,000 U.S. adults conducted between May 15-18, 2014. There is a margin of error of +/- 3% at a 95% confidence level. This margin of error would be greater for any subsets of the sample.