J.D. Power "Awards"

[MinnesotaNautique]

That was beautiful.

[thevogt]

Wakeslave, that was a very nice response. I commend you. However, I would also like to urge you to read the FAQ page at JD Power to understand how it REALLY works.

http://www.jdpower.com/cc/global/faq...asp#question04

If all a manufacturer had to do was pay for good surveys, they would all be tied for the lead in every category.

Hope that link works.

Gary

[gotwake]

Magazines usually charge a fee to test and give thier view on a product. That coupled with the advertising dollar, makes tests very biased. On JD Power - Our company uses them and they do survey our customers extremely well. They do note when they have a low or inadequate sample rate.

How can J.D. Power and Associates claim its information is unbiased, when manufacturers pay for the studies?
J.D. Power and Associates syndicated studies are not funded by the companies that are measured. They are funded and owned by the firm. After the firm's study results are published, manufacturers, retailers, suppliers and other industry participants can choose whether or not to purchase the reports. Ownership of the data derived from the syndicated customer satisfaction studies is key to the firm's independence and unbiased position. This third-party status enables J.D. Power and Associates to provide its clients with credible and clear feedback from their actual customers.
http://www.jdpower.com/cc/boats/jdpa...oatRatings.jsp

[thevogt]

How'd you get the link to post? I tried using the chicken beaks like on other sites. Thanks for doing what I tried and couldn't.
Gary

[Wakeslave]

thevogt,

I understand how it works, and I realize that a manufacturer does not pay for a "good surey". What bothers me, is they have to pay for the results, and pay for the ablity to use the "award" in their ads, marketing, etc.

What also bothers me is the number of folks surveyed compared to the number of folks that actually made a purchase. Agian, I am very familiar with how it works, I just don't agree with how it works.

I think it is a good thing..J.D. Power..it just needs to be "fine tuned" a bit.

[surfsup]

Wow, finally some excitement on the board! Wakeslave is certainly entitled to his opinion. I'd like to point out that several years ago, CC didn't submit any of their boats for test in Waterski Mag. The rationale behind that decision was that they were paying for the testing, so why not pay for the actual ad space and say what you really what to say - not what some mag says about your boat. If you notice, Waterski Mag never has anything negative to say about any of the mfgs, CC included.

As far as JD Powers is concerned, they rely on statistics and probablity. In Wakesalve's earlier post he indicated that JD might not capture any owners with issues on their boat. Well, they could just as easily capture all the owners with problems - so that's a baseless argument. What does JD Powers really signify? - simply that on average, CC boat owners have a higher satisfaction level with their boat. It could also mean that typical CC owner is easier to satisfy or that the CC owners, in general, do more research as part of the buying decision - therefore they're happier with the product once they own it. CC, like any company, will use any available marketing tool and JD Powers is just another one.....

[AbunDiga909]

I think Duece pretty much said it. And anyway, when you bought your most recent boat, how many companies did you really look at? I know for my family we only considered a CC. We're a CC family. And I know from another thread that most people on this site don't go to many differnt dealers for different brands to test drive each of their boats; they just immediatly go to the same company as they got their boat from, assuming they liked it and didn't have a problem. The % of people who would actually use the mags' reviews or the JD review to help make a decision to buy their boat is very slim I think. I know it sounds stupid, but when it came down to dealers for my family, we were looking at three, yet they were all CC dealers! So it really did come down to which dealer would be best for us in the long run, like Duece said.

So in the end, the JD doesn't really need to be as specific as Wakeslave wants it to be... I think. I think this because the people who would use it to their advantage to buy a boat probably arn't looking for details at their point in time, they're looking for the average of how satisfied the customers are of a certain brand... therefore, JD I think is doing exactly what they are supposed to be doing. After all, if someone asked you why you bought a CC over a BU or MC and you said because CC ranked highest in the JD award, wouldn't that sound stupid and childish like you don't know how do buy a boat??? Its the dealer that puts the icing on the cake for a purchase... its their job....

[ag4ever]

Good, bad or indifferent, the only thing I questioned is the bribing to fill out the questionaire. Everytime I got one in the mail, I also got a nice nautique shirt. While I love the "free" shirt, it begs the question of wheter it sawys the results of the questionaire. In my case it did not, it just made it more likely that I would actually fill it out and return it. (BTW, I was very honest, and did not just give an across the board glowing review. When it was great I said so, when it was less than stellar I also said so).

If I get a new boat soon, I hope they still shower me with free shirts, as I love free things, heck I hope they do a two year survey on my current boat so I can get an additional free shirt.

[NautiqueJeff]

Are you sure that wasn't the Correct Craft survey? They send out shirts with the 1-month and 6-month owner surveys for CC, but I don't think they have anything to do with JD Power.

[ag4ever]

I think you are right, but it still beggs the question.

I also remember more that 2 surveys, more like four or five surveys.

[gotwake]

I got 2 surveys after buying my boat, one from CC (get a shirt). Most of the questions were geared towards the dealer.
The 2nd was from JD Power (about 4 pages long) and that was on everything under the sun. I can say that I filled both surveys out honestly. In my job I send customer surveys out on every job my company does. Some people give all highs, some lows and some take the time to fill it out correctly. But after doing these surveys for awhile, you will see a trend or average and the results are pretty accurate. It only takes 1 "aw crap" to knock out 10 "attaboys"

As far as wakeslave goes and the "banning" controversy, I too welcome all opinions but not personal attacks. The tone in his reply to fatboy wasn't called for at all. My son would have gotten at least a ten minute time out.

[FatBoy]

It's all good. I still don't understand how he thinks he can call me Fat*** instead of FatBoy and not expect me to get mad about it. You know he said he was 54 years old, looks like someone would have taught him some manners in all those years.

[Deuce]

Man....I haven't got a free t-shirt yet.... :jocolor:

Life is good and Summer is around the corner. I'll raise a glass of JD over to everyone here, if nothing else, it makes me smile......

Another side note, thanks to Jeff and/or whoever runs PlanteNautique.... It is another place to kill a little free time between clients.

E.J.

[Wakeslave]

Your are right Fatboy..that was very childish of me to refer to you in a derogatory manner. For that I apologize. But you called me some nasty names in a PM..so we are even I guess. As always, 2 wrongs don't make a right.

[thevogt]

Wakeslave-
You are absolutely correct in that 2 wrongs don't make a right. Keep in mind, however, that 3 rights DO make a left. Have a great day on the water, y'all.

Gary