Japanese marques Isuzu, Mitsubishi and Suzuki dominated the recent customer service index (CSI) released by marketing consultancy J.D. Power for 10 car brands in Thailand's mass market segment.
The survey showed Isuzu had the highest after-sales customer satisfaction with an overall score of 847.
Mitsubishi ranked second with a score of 840, while Suzuki was third at 837.
The 2018 CSI study measures overall satisfaction among vehicle owners who visited an authorised service centre for maintenance or repair work during the first 12-36 months of ownership based on five factors -- service quality; vehicle pick-up; service facility; service initiation; and service advisers.
J.D. Power has produced its CSI study for 19 years, based on responses from 2,658 new vehicle owners.
The company plans to release a 2018 Thailand sales satisfaction index study in a few months.
Siros Satrabhaya, regional director for Thailand at J.D. Power, said clear communication with customers both before and after vehicle service is one of the key drivers of customer satisfaction, particularly when providing service fees and cost estimates.
Both factors have a high impact on customer satisfaction.
Customers who receive expected or lower fees and accurate cost estimates were far more satisfied than those who received an invoice that was higher than their expectations.
"It is crucial the service adviser fully understands and manages customer expectations related to service fees, and the customer should also be aware of all details associated with the service, from the details of work to be carried out to the estimated costs before the service begins," said Mr Siros.
The study also found satisfaction among customers who were personally escorted to their vehicle or whose vehicle was retrieved by dealership staff is higher than among those who had the pick-up location of their vehicle pointed out to them.
This demonstrates the importance of the personal touch when interacting with customers, which is particularly key when interacting with first-time buyers, the report said.
The survey pointed out the importance of proactive outreach to customers -- satisfaction was higher when scheduling via the digital channel; and cash payments were the most popular, but customers expect more payment options in the future.
In separate news, Thailand's car market from January to August was dominated by the top four Japanese brands, comprising Toyota with sales of 195,348 units (up 34.7%), Isuzu 112,683 units (a gain of 17.1%), Honda 81,663 units (a decrease of 1.2%) and Mitsubishi 54,129 units (an increase of 25.3%).
Fifth place went to Mazda with 45,875 cars sold in the first eight months, up by 42.5%, and the sixth spot was Japanese peer Nissan at 44,824 cars, up by 19.8%.
US-based Ford was seventh with 43,578 units, up by 26.1%.
Suzuki came in eighth with 18,390 cars, up by 19.8%, and the ninth place went to MG, owned by Chinese SAIC Motor, with 15,779 units sold, a sharp increase of 111% over the first eight months in 2017.
US-based Chevrolet dropped to 10th from early 2018 with 12,135 units sold, up by 4.5%.
The Federation of Thai Industries said overall car sales from January to August rose by 21.1% to 657,884 units.