Reputation Management Online

Do Land Rover fit together right?

Following the post of the weekend on Land Rover and the JD Powers IQS Survey, Jaguar Land Rover North America (the company name) responded with a more detailed rebuttal which I have quoted below in part (which I hope is okay with them). Two things interest me: they responded that fast which shows that they are paying attention to commentary and they responded in person. In other Jaguar Land Rover are reaching out to people who might be influencers.

I wanted to acknowledge reading your blog post on the J.D. Power quality ranking.  Given our ranking, I guess we deserve random shots from afar, so no argument from me.  I do want to share with you our position on the matter and give you some background on the survey itself.
The IQS survey measures customers’ reactions to how their vehicles’ function, such as in our case, the ease of closing and opening of a rear trunk, hatch and glove box, as well as items that require fixes, such as software updates for the Hands Free Communication System.  Issues raised by owners do not specifically indicate malfunctions or build quality issues, but do represent a concern or dislike.  There was no indication from J.D. Power that there were actual mechanical or driving problems, such as transmission failures.  Frankly, the issues that arose were more annoying, than impactful on their reliability.  Nothing to be proud of, but certainly the light-hearted imagery you portray of customers constantly driving to garages is misleading.

On a positive note from this year’s survey, the Range Rover model was actually honored as a top rated quality vehicle in its segment.  And in 2009, Jaguar placed tops in the industry for J.D. Power three year reliability (VDS).  Also, our brands generally score well on J.D. Power’s APEAL survey, as well as overall sales and customer satisfaction surveys.  Which basically means that while our vehicles might have some issues that pop up on this survey, those are strongly overshadowed by their overall great performance and design, as well as the desirability of the ownership experience.  Nonetheless, we strive to do better.

In terms of the actual issues reported in this IQS survey, be assured actions are being taken.  We have measures in place through the dealers to address most of the “fix” issues highlighted in the survey.  In relation to the design issues, our team is committed to analyzing the comments and flowing these into future product considerations. Some criticized design items are already scheduled for improvement.

Delivering wonderful automobiles and ownership experiences is our top commitment. We can do better, but we also know that our customers generally love their automobiles and the service they recieve.

Please feel free to let me know if you have any questions about our company. …

There is some sense of humour in the opening which is great as so many companies respond to criticism with a blank denial or a no comment. (Given our ranking, I guess we deserve random shots from afar, so no argument from me.) They also have a positive take on the survey and a rebuttal in terms of quality as in top rated quality vehicle in its segment.

What can we understand from the two sides? The IQS reveals that Land Rover owners are affected by lots of little niggles with their vehicle which LandRover assures are being addressed with a proviso that underlying design faults or mechanical faults are few are far between. Do Land Rover buyers expect too much from their vehicles? Interesting that Porsche was at the top of the survey when they have never been considered especially reliable, but then owners expect the car to be a bit of handful. Is there an issue with build quality or is this dealer delivery for Land Rover?

Is it coincidence that Jaguar and Land Rover are at the bottom (with Mini and Mitsubishi)? Remember that this is a consumer survey so Land Rover Reputation Managers will be aware that this is their customers’ doing the talking which suggests that maybe they need to reach out to them more and shape their perceptions more.  If the faults are small and nebulous, how can Land Rover ensure that their owners are unconcerned by them. Furthermore the issue is critical for Land Rover: the design is excellent, cachet undoubted, brand positioning spot on, but continued issues with quality will undermine all that excellent work.  Land Rover has been plagued by issues of mechanical failure and poor dealer and service (see landroverhell.com for an especially angry example from continental Europe, my business partner experienced some of this as well in Scotland.)

End of Term Report for Land Rover: your communications team is on the spot, but service and customer perception needs work.