100 Dealerships Involved in J.D. Power Certified Retailer Program
15 April 1998
100 Dealerships Involved in J.D. Power and Associates Certified Retailer Program and Rising
AGOURA HILLS, Calif., April 15 -- Just five months after the
launch of the J.D. Power and Associates Certified Retailer Program, over 100
dealerships nationwide have applied for certification. Of those 100-plus
retailers, 72 are in the survey process, 26 did not qualify and 11 dealerships
have received one-year certification.
"The retailers who are involved in certification have indicated they want
confirmation that their customers have achieved a truly satisfying shopping
experience," commented Linda Hirneise, project director of the Certified
Retailer Program and a partner at J.D. Power and Associates. "It not only
gives retailers a true marketplace distinction, it gives consumers an idea of
where to shop for their next vehicle. We have been contacted via phone and
email by consumers who want to buy from a retailer certified by J.D. Power and
Associates, thus supporting a consumer need for this type of independent
information," Ms. Hirneise said.
The Certified Retailer Program measures customer satisfaction with the
sales process against strict industry benchmarks. While certification
consideration is open to all retailers, it is expected that only about 3-4% of
U.S. dealerships will qualify for certification, given the high qualifying
standards of the program, thus protecting market differentiation for
qualifying retailers.
To qualify for certification, retailers must submit a list of their
new-vehicle buyers that are then randomly surveyed to ensure that the retailer
is meeting the highest industry levels of sales satisfaction. The retailers
then have to meet or exceed the nameplate leader's average score on the
current J.D. Power and Associates Sales Satisfaction Study (SSI). The process
takes approximately four weeks once questionnaires are mailed to new-vehicle
buyers.
The following is a list, in alphabetical order, of the dealerships that
have received J.D. Power and Associates Certified Retailer Program awards:
* BMW of Bayside, Bayside, NY; President: John Burns
* JM Lexus, Margate, FL; General Manager: David Mullen
* Montclair Volvo, Montclair, NJ; President: Shau-Wai Lam
* Neftin Westlake Volvo, Thousand Oaks, CA; President: Howie Neftin
* Land Rover of Massapequa, Massapequa, NY; President: Michael Lazarus
* Land Rover of Southampton, Southampton, NY; President: Michael Lazarus
* Lexus of Oxnard, Oxnard, CA; President: Shau-Wai Lam
* Lexus of Smithtown, Smithtown, NY; President: John Burns
* Prestige Lexus, Ramsey, NJ; President: Joseph Dockery
* Smith Company Motor Cars -- Volvo, Charleston, WV; President: G.N.
Smith III
* VOLVOVILLE U.S.A, Massapequa, NY; President: Michael Lazarus
J.D. Power and Associates is an international firm best known for its
marketing information services in key business sectors including market
research, forecasting and customer satisfaction. The firm's quality and
satisfaction measurements are based on actual customer responses from over one
million consumers annually. With its headquarters in Agoura Hills,
California, the firm also has U.S. offices in Torrance, California; Michigan;
and Connecticut. Its international locations include Japan, Korea, England,
Canada and Brazil.
J.D. Power and Associates can be accessed through the World Wide Web at
http://www.jdpower.com. Media email contact: john.pepitone@jdpower.com.
This press release is provided for editorial use only. No advertising or
other promotional use can be made of the information in this release or J.D.
Power and Associates survey results without the express prior written consent
of J.D. Power and Associates.
SOURCE J.D. Power and Associates
