DENVER — You read the reviews. You asked friends. You compared businesses.
And you still ended up disappointed.
That's the dilemma highlighted in a new automotive customer study commissioned by the Better Business Bureau Great West + Pacific.
The survey found 66% of respondents had chosen an automotive business primarily based on reviews or word-of-mouth recommendations and then been disappointed with the experience. And these weren't necessarily customers picking the first business they found: 96% said they research more than one business, while 65% research three or more.
Why reviews don't always tell the whole story
Reviews remain important. The BBB report found 61% of respondents considered recent reviews very important when deciding whether to use a business for the first time, and 65% considered customer reviews and reputation very important when narrowing down businesses they discovered online.
But reviews describe somebody else's experience.
“Reviews are just somebody's experience that they had, right? And that can be all over the board,” Mehgan Conradt with the Better Business Bureau told Denver7. “Sometimes businesses could also purchase reviews. They're not always 100% validated, especially when they're on other platforms.”
The survey found referrals from friends or family were the most common way respondents discovered an automotive business, at 60%, followed by traditional search engines at 51% and customer review websites at 47%.
AI is changing how younger consumers search
One of the report's more striking findings involves artificial intelligence.
Overall, 34% of respondents said they typically discover automotive businesses using AI search tools. But the age difference was substantial: 46% of respondents ages 25 to 40 used AI tools to discover businesses, compared with just 7% of those older than 55. The report cautions that all subgroup findings are directional because of the survey's small sample size.
Conradt said AI can be useful for narrowing the field but shouldn't be the last step.
“I think it's a really good starting point to maybe narrow down to look at the shops that you want to talk to,” she said. “But I think that's the most important next step, is to actually reach out and talk to the shops and have the conversations and compare those conversations before choosing who to go with.”
The report also found 76% of respondents who discover businesses through AI search reported having been disappointed after choosing a business based on reviews or word of mouth, compared with 61% among respondents who did not discover businesses through AI search.
What matters more than five stars?
When the survey asked about factors that build customer trust, clear pricing and estimates ranked first at 77%. Positive customer reviews came in at 56%.
Other trust factors included:
- Long-standing reputation: 47%
- Warranty coverage: 46%
- Recommendations from friends or family: 46%
- Responsive customer service: 39%
- Photos or documentation of repairs: 38%
- Professional certifications: 36%
- Frequent communication updates: 34%
And there was one particularly clear trust killer: 63% strongly agreed surprise charges are one of the fastest ways for an automotive business to lose their trust.
“When people are told one price when they take their car in, and then they go to pick it up after the work has been done, and the price has changed, usually increased, that's what is really the trust killer,” Conradt said.
The bigger the bill, the more proof consumers want
The BBB research found documentation became increasingly important as the cost went up.
Among respondents considering repairs costing less than $750, 35% said photos, estimates and repair documentation significantly increased their confidence. For estimates greater than $1,500, that climbed to 58%.
That makes asking questions before authorizing work particularly important, Conradt said.
Questions consumers can ask include:
- Can I get the estimate in writing?
- What are the parts and labor costs?
- Do you provide photos or video showing the needed repairs?
- What happens if the cost changes?
- Will you contact me before performing additional work?
- How will you document my approval?
- How often will you update me while you have my vehicle?
“Find out what their process is for if the price has to increase, when they'll tell you, how they'll walk you through it, how they'll document that price increase, and how they'll obtain your approval before doing any work that will cause that price to go up,” Conradt said.
Status updates may matter more than consumers realize. Sixty-two percent of survey respondents said consistent updates throughout the repair process were very important in deciding whether to continue using the same business.
Don't just read complaints. Read the business's response.
The report found 81% of respondents said they would be likely or very likely to cancel or avoid scheduling service after finding negative reviews or unanswered complaints online.
Conradt recommends looking beyond the number of complaints and considering what the business did about them.
“Complaint histories are published for businesses, and we also publish their responses to complaints,” she said. “You can see how they handle disputes or handle things that go wrong.”
And a complaint itself does not necessarily mean the business can't be trusted, she added.
“We always say just because disputes happen, it doesn't mean that the business is bad or not doing what they're supposed to,” Conradt said. “But how do they handle that when it goes wrong?”
What if there is a dispute?
Conradt told Denver7 that paying by credit card, when possible, may offer another layer of protection if a consumer does not receive the product or service they paid for.
Whether a particular charge qualifies for a dispute depends on the circumstances and the card issuer's policies, so consumers should keep estimates, receipts and communications related to the transaction.
The bottom line: Check the stars, but don't stop there.
Before handing over your keys, get the estimate in writing, understand how additional work and price increases will be approved, ask what documentation the business provides and find out how it communicates with customers while work is underway.
