- 2025 Service Telephone Effectiveness® (STE®) Study shows that 8 out of 10 dealer groups improved their average STE scores from last year
- A.I. now rivals — and often surpasses — human agents in service call quality, but challenges remain
- 51% of independent service centers outperformed dealers — and booked appointments three days sooner
MONTEREY, Calif.: Group 1 Automotive dealerships ranked highest in Pied Piper’s 2025 PSI® Service Telephone Effectiveness® (STE®) Auto Dealer Group Study, which measured efficiency and quality when attempting to schedule service appointments by telephone. Following Group 1 Automotive were Napleton Automotive Group, Berkshire Hathaway Automotive, and Ed Morse Automotive Group.
Pied Piper submitted service calls to 2,105 dealerships representing 26 of the largest U.S. auto dealer groups, as well as to 200 independent service centers. Each location received an STE score ranging from 0-100 based on their performance in over 30 differently weighted measurements tied to best practices most likely to drive service revenue and customer loyalty. Each dealer group’s average STE Score is a combined average of their individual dealership performances.
Industrywide - Telephone Service Behaviors Improve
Industrywide average service telephone performance continues to steadily improve, with a 2025 average STE score of 64, up four points since last year and six points since 2023. The improvement in average STE score was in large part due to a reduced rate of negative behaviors compared to the previous year.
- Less Time Spent on Hold – Service customers were placed on hold for more than two minutes only 2% of the time on average in 2025 compared to 13% of the time last year.
- Fewer “Mission Failure” – The share of service customers who hung up without having been offered an appointment dropped to 9% this year, down from 13% last year.
Group 1 Automotive Leads the Pack – Group 1 dealerships improved their average STE score by 12 points over the past year, achieving a record average STE score of 76.
- More Service Appointments Scheduled – Only 4% of Group 1 service callers weren’t offered an appointment—down from 10% last year and less than half this year’s dealer group average.
- Less Downtime on the Phone – The average Group 1 caller reached a service associate in 51 seconds—8 seconds faster than Group 1’s performance last year, and 9 seconds quicker than this year’s dealer group average. Group 1 callers were also half as likely to be placed on hold compared to the industry and 9% less likely to experience hold times exceeding two minutes.
Rise of A.I. in Service Calls
Use of artificial intelligence to interact with service customer calls continues to grow, and for the study Pied Piper collected data comparing the experience of service phone customers who interacted with A.I. vs those who interacted with a human.
- Today’s A.I. Can Handle Most Service Calls – For dealerships using A.I. to answer service calls, those calls were handled successfully by the A.I. 91% of the time, including addressing the customer’s request to schedule an appointment, without any reliance on a human service employee. Overall, customers successfully scheduled a service appointment 86% of the time at dealerships that rely on A.I., compared to 90% of the time at dealerships that rely on humans to interact with customers.
- “Full Capability” Service A.I. Outperforms Majority of Human Associates – the average STE score when A.I. successfully handled the entire service call was 72, 8 points higher than the 2025 national dealer group average, and nearly as high as the STE average scores of top performing dealer groups. 84% of these successful A.I. interactions achieved STE scores equal to or better than this year’s dealer group average STE score.
- When A.I. Cannot Handle Service Calls, The Transfer Often Fumbles – While some customer requests are very simple, such as oil changes or standard maintenance, other customers call about recalls or a combination of issues, which today usually requires a transfer to a human. A.I. was unable to handle the customer request 9% of the time, and when attempting to transfer to a human associate, those handoffs failed 56% of the time. Typical issues include requiring the customer to call back later, sending to voicemail, endless hold, and call dropped when transferred. Note that the average A.I. transfer occurs 88 seconds into the call, meaning that the failure may leave the customer disgruntled over having wasted their time, compared to the alternative of having to leave a voicemail at the start of a call.
- When Transferred from A.I. to Human Associate, Average Human STE Performance is Worse – At dealerships using A.I., when the A.I. transfers customers to a human service associate, whether by customer request or reaching the limit of A.I. capability, the average STE score was 50, 14 points lower than the dealer group average and 22 points below the current “full capability” A.I. average score. At dealerships using A.I., only 28% of transferred customers interacted with service staff whose performance achieved an STE score higher than the average A.I. STE score.
“A.I. now often outperforms human staff on service calls, but handoffs to people frequently fall apart,” said Cameron O’Hagan, Pied Piper’s Vice President of Metrics and Analytics. “Dealers must use A.I. as a tool—not a crutch—and stay committed to staffing and smooth transitions.”
Independent Service Centers: Competitive Threat
New for 2025, the study also included measurement of independent service center STE performance. The findings show that independent service center performance was mixed, but for some important measurements their performance exceeded the dealer group average.
- The Independent Service Centers at a Glance – the locations of four different independent service center brands were studied. Average STE scores for each independent were as follows: Midas (65), Firestone (62), Meineke (57), Pep Boys (56), with an overall independent service center industry average STE score of 60, compared to the dealer group average STE score of 64. While 51% of independent service centers outperformed dealers, the independent service centers offered an appointment only 79% of the time on average, compared to 90% of the time on average for the dealer groups.
- Advantages in some key behaviors – While the average dealer group STE score is higher, independent service centers excel in some individual behaviors: They are twice as likely to offer a cost estimate over the phone and most notably, the average days out until the earliest available appointment hovered around 1 day on average, compared to 4 days out for the dealer groups nationally.
“Failure to schedule an appointment quickly may be all it takes for a dealership’s service customer to choose an independent shop,” said O’Hagan. “Dealerships work hard to avoid losing service customers, and the faster availability and greater price transparency of independents can be a real threat.”
2025 Dealer Group Performance Compared
- “Quickly Reach Associate” - How often did customers of the group’s dealerships reach a service associate within one minute?
- More than 80% of the time on average: Zeigler Auto Group, Greenway Automotive, Serra Automotive, Bergstrom Automotive
- Less than 40% of the time on average: Ken Garff Automotive Group, Ciocca Auto Group, Penske Automotive Group
- “Set an Appointment” - How often did the group’s dealerships offer an appointment for a specific date and time?
- More than 95% of the time on average: Napleton Automotive Group, Ed Morse Automotive Group, Group 1 Automotive, Bergstrom Automotive, Morgan Auto Group
- Less than 80% of the time on average: West Herr Automotive Group, Fox Motors
- “Average Days Out” – What was the group’s dealerships’ average number of days out until the earliest available appointment?
- Less than 2 days on average: Napleton Automotive Group, Berkshire Hathaway Automotive, Group 1 Automotive, Ourisman Automotive Group, Greenway Automotive
- More than 7 days on average: West Herr Automotive Group, Fox Motors
- “Communication Failure” - How often would calling a group’s dealerships for service result in an issue that prevented communication (placed on hold indefinitely, straight to voicemail, stuck in phone tree, etc.)?
- Less than 3% of the time on average: Ed Morse Automotive Group, Napleton Automotive Group, Zeigler Auto Group, Group 1 Automotive
- More than 15% of the time on average: Penske Automotive Group, West Herr Automotive Group, Fox Motors
Why This Study Matters
“A service customer’s initial phone call is a dealership’s first step toward building loyalty and generating revenue,” said O’Hagan. “Yet because these calls often go unnoticed in daily operations, problems are easily overlooked. Increasing visibility leads directly to improvement.”
For more than 15 years, Pied Piper has independently published annual industry studies that rank the omnichannel performance of brands and dealer groups. These studies track how industry performance changes over time and let clients understand how their own performance compares.
Pied Piper clients order ongoing Prospect Satisfaction Index® (PSI®) measurement and reporting – internet, telephone or in-person – for their dealerships, as tools to improve and maintain omnichannel sales and service effectiveness. A.I.-powered insights are delivered directly to clients’ phones—providing concise, actionable guidance to boost omnichannel sales and service.
About Pied Piper Management Company, LLC
Monterey, California - based Pied Piper helps brands and national retailer groups improve the omnichannel sales & service performance of their retailers.
Pied Piper’s PSI® process applies data science analytics to determine the omnichannel sales and service best practices most likely to drive unit sales and loyalty. PSI® then uses a combination of artificial intelligence, machine learning and human actors to measure and report how effectively retail locations follow those best practices.
Other recent Pied Piper PSI® industry studies include:
- 2025 Internet Lead Effectiveness® (ILE®) Auto Industry Study (Subaru was ranked first)
- 2024 Service Telephone Effectiveness® (STE®) Auto Industry Study (Acura was ranked first)
- 2024 Telephone Lead Effectiveness™ (TLE™) Pontoon Boat Industry Study (BRP’s Sea-Doo brand ranked first)
Learn more, request a presentation of industry study results, or request PSI® measurement and reporting at www.piedpiperpsi.com.
This press release is provided for editorial use only, and information contained in this release may not be used for advertising or otherwise promoting brands mentioned in this release without specific, written permission from Pied Piper Management Co., LLC.
Fonte: Business Wire