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There’s always hope
Author: Bill Cusick
January 14, 2005
OK, I’ll admit it. About eight or nine years ago, I had a Hyundai. It was a blue Excel hatchback. I bought it new, drove it 96,000 miles before "trading" it in, and was actually just a little sad to see it go, but not a lot sad. It was never washed; I figured why bother? And at the time I was going through several cans of Diet Coke a day (corporate day job, law school at night, newborn at home) and would throw the empties into the back seat. I figured that when the car died, I could just push the whole deal into a recycling collection center.
But things have changed! While, at the time, Hyundai quality was a running joke, and the brand value seen as just above Yugo (remember those? remember Yugoslavia?) the company has made tremendous strides in both quality and brand loyalty, as seen in a recent J.D. Powers study. By sticking to the fundamentals of improving their product and, perhaps more importantly, backing it up with better service and commitments (like 10 year warranties) Hyundai has moved up to #4 for customer retention among all car makers, and #3 among non-luxury brands.
In other words, by making the customer experience for Hyundai buyers so pleasant, the company has convinced nearly 60% of their car buyers to purchase another Hyundai. So pay attention to the experience…it pays off big. Maybe when my lease is up, I’ll take another look, maybe.
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