Both industry players and researchers behind the Customer Satisfaction Index of Singapore (CSISG) agree that higher car prices - bumped up by recent record-high COE premiums - were most likely to blame for the slump in car buyers' satisfaction. Said Caroline Lim, director of the Institute of Service Excellence at SMU (ISES): "COE has raised the cost of buying a motor vehicle substantially. This may mean that customers expect more out of their purchase but they are not convinced that they will receive an experience that they feel they should have." For the first time since CSISG's inaugural study in 2007, the scores of motor vehicle companies had to be combined due to the falling volume of new car sales, which resulted in fewer survey respondents. For this installment, ISES could only survey 307 car buyers, compared to 774 last year and 1,266 the year before.
The Business Times