Strategic Vision's Total Quality Index Is A Joke
Every year, the California-based whack jobs at Strategic Vision announce their "Total Quality Index" (TQI) with some headline-grabbing conclusion. Each year, the media swallows it hook, line and sinker. Each year, we point out that Strategic Vision's methodology is from Planet Claire and their client roster indicates a greater conflict of interest that Gerald R. Ford's presidential pardon. This year we get " Ford vs. Toyota, The Battle for Total Quality Intensifies." Yes, “Ford is back, establishing its vehicle quality in the hearts and minds of its customers,” proclaims Alexander Edwards, president of Strategic Vision’s automotive division. Not to mention Mercury, whose Sable (what the Hell's a Sable?) scoops SV's best large car. And if that isn't enough to discredit these Bozos highly-paid market researchers, ALL the winners are Strategic Vision clients. (Still.) HOW they won is anyone's guess– unless you can envision a way to create a point system measuring "consumers’ motivational hierarchies, including the values that shape perceptions and capture the customers’ emotional responses and drive behavior." Yes, once again, we're ready for someone else to cut down Strategic Vision's " Tree of ValueCentered Knowledge." Please.
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we as a group pass by a lot of driver's side windows, it's just who we are. now, sometimes we take a look hoping to find a hot babe driving, or to bore a laser shaped hole through the forehead of some dimbulb driver. ah yes, my point. when you drive past a sable or marquis or anything mercury, do you look? no of course you don't. that's because there will be a bluehair driving the car 99.9% of the time. so now imagine asking that bluehair if they like their car. duh, of course they like their car, it has a steering wheel, it's huge (safe), and the ride is cushy. so the results of any owner survey involving mercuries will result in a very favorable score.
Sorry, guys, but ALL subjective surveys are biased; some more than others. For example, I adore my car; it reflects my personality very, very well. It has been reliable and it's very durable. It has not been perfect but how do you think I'd rate it? Before you answer it's Grand Prix season, Hamilton won Monaco, the weather has been very good, there's new rubber on the tires and there are some very nice roads where I've just moved to... Get it? For the vanilla wafer, grocery getters things may not be so "rosy". They are, afterall, appliances. And it's not so easy to distinguish who identifies with their vehicle and who has purchased a "mobile toaster oven". Yes, the specialty cars are easy, but do you think Mustang, Corvette, Lotus Elise and Porsche Cayman responders are going to rant about their vehicles? Maybe, but at the end of it all they'll be "Very Satisfied" because they bought "image of performance", image/cred and performance. And that's what they'll resonate with. Can't blame them. When I worked for GM the Corvette, Camaro and Firebird were the worst of the fleet for TGW yet they had the highest Customer Satisfaction Numbers. Like any tool, it must be wielded properly.
Just consider CR as a single data point. But compare them with WhatCar in the UK and the official figures from Bilprovningen in Sweden and you start to see the cream rise to the top.
Robert Farago: I'm sure it was an honest oversight not to mention the automaker that in fact topped Strategic Vision's survey: BMW Right? Yes, I realize that this post was partially -- mostly? -- about the spin of the news headlines announcing the results of the survey. But there's a lot of criticism in it about Strategic Vision itself, and I find it hard to fathom that BMW somehow was unable to get in on the exerting-undue-influence-on-the-lazy-news-media game.