GMC Dealer Service Gets Top Rating

[Ming]

GMC dealer service rated tops
Medium-duty commercial trucks cited

Flint, Michigan
THE FLINT JOURNAL FIRST EDITION

Thursday, February 19, 2004
By Todd Seibt
JOURNAL BUSINESS WRITER

GMC medium-duty commercial trucks ranked highest in dealer service satisfaction for the second consecutive year, according to a J.D. Power and Associates study of 2001 model year trucks.

"Dealer service satisfaction has to do with when an owner has a problem (or needs maintenance)," said Brian Etchells, a manager of commercial vehicle research for J.D. Power.

GMC dealers are excelling at routine maintenance and diagnosing and promptly fixing problems when they crop up, he said.

In a separate overall satisfaction measure, GMC, Chevrolet and Isuzu medium-duty trucks ranked toward the middle of the pack.

In 2001, General Motors built its medium-duty trucks in Janesville, Wis. Since then, production of updated designs has shifted to GM's Flint Truck Assembly Plant on Van Slyke Road. New cab-over models, including an Isuzu, also have been added to the lineup there.

The plant, where workers are represented by UAW Local 598, built more than 1,800 medium-duty trucks in January, which fits a pattern of increasing production stretching back through 2003, said GM spokesman Dan Flores.

In 2003, the Flint plant built a total of 20,906 medium duties of various types and badges, Flores said.

In 2002, by comparison, Flint and a plant in Janesville built a total of 28,829 medium duties, with 13,919 coming from Flint and 14,910 from Janesville.

Janesville built medium duties through the first half of 2002.

"As we went through (2003), we went from about 1,000 trucks a month to roughly 1,500, then up to the 2,000 range from about September on," Flores said.

Flores said medium-duty truck production can be a good economic indicator; when businesses feel confident about the economy, they tend to be more willing to buy new trucks.

Increasing volume has meant increasing overtime for the single shift of workers on the medium-duty line at the Flint truck plant.

"They're working maximum overtime to meet demand, but it's not quite enough to warrant a second shift at this time," said Mark Hawkins, shop chairman of UAW Local 598.

The plant also builds much higher volumes of crew-cab GMC Sierra and Chevrolet Silverado pickups on a separate line.

Dealer service satisfaction is measured using seven factors: dealer attitude; service delivery process; service quality; price of service; service facility; service initiation; and service adviser.

Full Article Here

[tgagneguam]

The facts in this article may lend support to those who believe that GMC is a relevant division within the Company. From a personal perspective, there are those in my family who buy GMC's, including their medium-duty commercial trucks (and not Chevy's) for a variety of reasons, one of which is dealer service.

[paul8488]

good news! being a GM fan is getting more and more rewarding every day!

[BBcamaroSS]

wow nice job GMC, now if the chevy and caddy dealers near me could give thier customers that type of satisfaction.