Mitsubishi touts improvements in service department

While the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance deals with the cloud of the Carlos Ghosn scandal, a thin silver lining is forming over Mitsubishi Motors North America.

In the U.S., the brand is riding a six-year streak of sales increases and a second consecutive year of sales surpassing 100,000 vehicles. Last year's volume of 118,074, boosted by the introduction of the new Eclipse Cross crossover, was good for a 14 percent improvement. It was the brand's best sales year since 2007.

Meanwhile, Mitsubishi is making headway on a pair of key priorities underscored by Mitsubishi Motors North America CEO Fred Diaz, who took over in April 2018: making dealerships more responsive to customers and making headquarters more responsive to dealer concerns as it prepares to expand its retail network.

The company finished third among nonpremium brands and 12th overall in the latest J.D. Power Customer Service Index Study, extending a run of improvements in dealer service.

The study measures satisfaction with service at franchised and independent service operations for maintenance and repair work among owners and lessees of 1- to 3-year-old vehicles. It scores brands on five criteria: service initiation, vehicle pickup, service facility, service quality and service adviser.

Mitsubishi recorded the largest year-on-year improvement — 27 points — in the study. Since 2016, Mitsubishi has improved by 61 points, more than any other nonpremium brand during that span.

"You'd have to go back 30 years to see the Mitsubishi brand rank in that top tier among the nonpremium brands," Mark Chaffin, COO for the North America unit, told Automotive News. "It's something that wasn't a huge focus in the last decade, but as we've transitioned the brand in the last several years, it's clear that customer satisfaction is a major driver of how people see the brand."

Such metrics are critical milestones for a marque that executives admit has long been undermined by a thin product lineup and heavy incentive spending that cast it as a bargain brand. But Mitsubishi will need many more such wins to solidify its image with consumers, said Michael Harley, executive editor of Kelley Blue Book.

"Mitsubishi has completely fallen off the consideration radar for consumers because its product offering lacks a cohesive focus," Harley wrote in an email. "To improve perception, and capture a larger share of the marketplace, Mitsubishi needs to concentrate its efforts on a single strategy and emphasize its proficiency in that area.

"Safety, technology, innovation and efficiency resonate with today's discerning shoppers," he added. "Selling on price, which appears to be the company's current strategy, only serves to weaken a brand."

Mitsubishi credits the improvement in customer service ratings to an influx of new technology in the service lane that creates a more seamless and transparent experience.

Chaffin said service advisers at some dealerships began using tablets in the past year that put all of the information about the customers and the vehicles at fingertips. The advisers can call up the service history and pending recalls on the spot.

New technology allows the shops to email and text customers from the service drive with updates on their vehicles.

This gives them a chance to send customers photos and videos of what they found on the car and seek a quick OK to begin work.

Chaffin said the tablets are coming to dealer showrooms as well. Sales staff will be able to run through the features and trims on the devices and show videos of technology, but they won't yet be able to work through financing on the tablets.

Ryan Gremore, president of the O'Brien Auto Team, which has a Mitsubishi store in Normal, Ill., said his operation bought 10 tablets for his service advisers and mechanics.

Sending consumers visuals of needed repairs has helped the service lane secure more work on its orders because the improved presentation makes the decision easier for consumers, Gremore said.

Advisers are able to say, "Here's a copy of the inspection, here are pictures of your dirty coolant fluid, here's why we recommend that you do it. Call us at your convenience," Gremore said.

It works better than giving a consumer "a dirty piece of paper that has a technician fingerprint on it," he said, or a service adviser calling customers when they're busy at work and telling them: " 'I think you need a coolant flush and I think you ought to have your serpentine belt replaced.' "

Gremore said that as sales increase, Mitsubishi has raised its expectations for dealers on customer service. In return, the brand has tried to be more responsive to its retail network.

After he was named CEO, Diaz traveled throughout the country to meet with dealers and get feedback. Mitsubishi also opened zone offices last year in Cypress, Calif., and Orlando to improve communication and give stores more touch points with the factory.

The company previously had only two zone offices — one for the western U.S. in Texas, which covered 28 states, and another for the East in New Jersey — leaving regional managers with too much ground to cover.

The additional regional offices come as Mitsubishi considers expanding its dealer base in key markets, including California, Florida and Texas.

In January, Mitsubishi's sales rose 2.7 percent, and in February, sales were up 6.1 percent for its best February since 2004.