The age old of question of whether motorists prefer franchised dealers or independent garages has been revisited by J.D. Power in Canada. They recently released the results of their 2015 Canadian Customer Service Index Long-Term Study and it was the independent aftermarket that had the edge.

The study measured the service experience, satisfaction and intended loyalty among owners of vehicles aged between 4 and 12 years. Using a 1,000-point scale, the survey found that customer satisfaction with dealerships scored 731 points, while independent garages scored 749.

J.D. Power says that dealers have been closing the gap in terms of satisfaction ratings and that these are the closest results yet. The survey found that customer service was generally improving within dealerships as they try to develop more long term customer relationships.

Interestingly the survey findings reflected many factors which are similar to the Irish market. Customers in Canada tend to be very value conscious, while dealerships also tend to be smaller family based operations rather than large nations chains.