Won or Lost on Keeping Promises
What 94,151 after-service customer surveys say about dealer network performance, 2018 to August 2026
Across 94,151 after-service surveys, NPS has held between 69 and 74 every year since 2018. Finishing work when promised and getting it right the first time carry 56% of what drives recommendation, and customers who experience a miss are about 13 to 15 times more likely to become detractors.
Executive Summary
Customers rate after-sales service consistently well: NPS has held between 69 and 74 every year since 2018. The score is largely won or lost on keeping promises. Finishing the work when promised and getting the job right the first time drive recommendation more than anything else, and customers who experience a miss are about 13 to 15 times more likely to become detractors.
The biggest opportunities are in keeping customers updated, diagnosing faster, and resolving the problems that do occur.
Stable every year
- NPS has held between 69 and 74 since 2018. About 79% of customers are promoters.
- On time and right first time drive recommendation. Together they carry 56% of the weight across the five service drivers.
- A miss is costly. Customers who experience one are about 13 to 15 times more likely to become detractors.
How to Read This Report
The terms used throughout this summary.
- NPS (Net Promoter Score)
- Customers rate how likely they are to recommend, from 0 to 10. Promoters answer 9 to 10, passives 7 to 8 and detractors 0 to 6. NPS is the % of promoters minus the % of detractors, so it runs from -100 to +100.
- Service drivers
- Five yes/no questions customers answer after a service event: was the work completed when promised, done right the first time, were they kept updated during the repair, was the problem diagnosed on time, and was the cost as quoted.
- Share of importance
- How much each service driver moves the likelihood-to-recommend score, relative to the other four. The five shares add up to 100%.
- Best-performing network
- The highest-scoring network in the benchmark on a given measure. It shows what is already achievable, not a theoretical maximum.
- Reported problems
- Customers who say something went wrong with their service. Resolution status is as the customer reports it.
- Modeled upside
- The estimated NPS gain from closing a gap, based on how strongly each driver relates to the recommend score. Upsides overlap, so they should not be added together.
Customer Loyalty Is High and Steady
NPS has stayed in a 69 to 74 band each year since 2018 with no upward or downward trend, and about 79% of customers are promoters. The dips in 2019 and 2025 were short-lived.
| Year | NPS |
|---|---|
| 2018 | 74 |
| 2019 | 69 |
| 2020 | 74 |
| 2021 | 74 |
| 2022 | 72 |
| 2023 | 73 |
| 2024 | 73 |
| 2025 | 71 |
| 2026 | 73 |
Two Promises Drive Recommendation: On Time and Right First Time
Completing work when promised and doing the job right the first time together carry 56% of the share of importance across the five service drivers. Both are delivered about 93% to 94% of the time, so the base is strong, but a miss is costly (next section).
A Single Miss Is Linked to Far More Detractors
Only 2% to 3% of customers are detractors when they answer yes to a driver question. That rises to 33% when work was not completed when promised and 31% when the job was not done right the first time. Promoters fall the other way: about 87% of customers who answer yes are promoters, versus 41% when work was not completed when promised and 43% when the job was not right the first time.
is not done as promised
- 33% become detractors when work is not done as promised. Versus 2% to 3% when it is.
- 31% become detractors when the job is not right the first time. The second-largest driver carries almost the same penalty.
- Promoters fall from about 87% to 41% and 43%. A single miss cuts the promoter share roughly in half.
Job done right the first time
Work completed when promised
Updates and Diagnosis Are the Biggest Gaps
Only 83% of customers say they were updated during repair, against 96% at the best-performing network. Timely diagnosis shows the same pattern (90% versus 97%). Closing both gaps is worth a modeled +5 NPS points, on a par with perfecting the two top drivers (about +5). Fixing all five drivers would be worth about +10. All five are improving slowly, but updates still lag.
the repair
- Updates are the weakest driver. 83% versus 96% at the best-performing network.
- Diagnosis trails too. 90% versus 97%.
- Closing both gaps is worth about +5 NPS. Fixing all five drivers would be worth about +10.
Problems Are the Biggest Risk and Recovery Is Stuck
About 7% of customers report a problem, up from 5% in 2018, and they give an NPS of -12 versus 79 for everyone else. Resolution is the swing factor: NPS is +7 when a problem is resolved and -36 when it is not. Yet 46% of problems remain unresolved, and that has not improved since 2018. Repeat visits and poor workmanship are the most common problem (35%); delays are less common (9%) but the most damaging.
still unresolved
- 46% of problems remain unresolved. That share has not improved since 2018.
- Resolution swings NPS from -36 to +7. It is the swing factor for customers who report a problem.
- Delays are less common but the most damaging. 9% of problems; repeat visits and poor workmanship are the most common (35%).
| Problem status | Share of problems | NPS |
|---|---|---|
| Resolved to satisfaction | 32% | +7 |
| Still in progress | 22% | +6 |
| Not resolved | 46% | -36 |
Resolution status of reported problems, 2018 to 2026.
Promoters Increasingly Praise Speed, Communication and Expertise
In their own words, promoters now cite speed (24% to 33%), communication (14% to 22%) and expertise (8% to 14%) more than they did in 2018 to 2020, while quality of work is mentioned somewhat less, though not by a clear margin (41% to 35%). Responsiveness and expertise are increasingly what stands out. Detractors still point to quality failures, price and billing, communication and slowness, and passives hold back over speed, price and communication.
What to Do
| # | Action | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Protect the promise date and fix it right first time | Largest drivers; 31% to 33% of customers who report a miss are detractors, versus about 2% otherwise |
| 2 | Diagnose quickly and keep customers updated | Weakest drivers: updates 83%, diagnosis 90%; best networks reach 96% and 97% |
| 3 | Close the loop on every reported problem | 46% unresolved; resolution swings NPS from -36 to +7 for that customer |
| 4 | Quote accurately and keep billing clean | Price and billing is the second most common detractor reason |
| 5 | Give passives a specific reason to promote | 19% of passives cannot name a reason; speed, price and communication hold them back |
Upsides are modeled estimates and overlap, so they should not be added together. Suggested measures to track: % completed when promised, % right first time, % updated during repair, % diagnosed on time, % of problems resolved.
About the Data
This benchmark draws on 94,151 rated customer surveys that PATH collected after service and repair events across equipment OEM dealer and service networks, from 2018 through August 2026, with duplicate records removed. Results are aggregated and anonymized. No individual OEM, dealer or customer is identified. Driver findings use 2021 to 2026 data from the five networks that asked all five service-driver questions; NPS, problem and comment findings use every network in the benchmark. Comment themes come from a coded sample of customer verbatims. Modeled upsides are estimates, not guarantees.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the NPS for after-sales service at equipment dealers?
In this benchmark of 94,151 after-service surveys from equipment OEM dealer and service networks, NPS has held between 69 and 74 every year since 2018. About 79% of customers are promoters.
What drives customer recommendation after a service visit?
Two promises matter most. Completing work when promised carries 29% of the share of importance and doing the job right the first time carries 26%, together 56% across the five service drivers. Both are delivered about 93% to 94% of the time.
How much does one missed promise cost?
Only 2% to 3% of customers are detractors when they answer yes to a service driver question. That rises to 33% when work was not completed when promised and 31% when the job was not done right the first time. Customers who experience a miss are about 13 to 15 times more likely to become detractors.
What are the biggest gaps in after-sales service?
Keeping customers updated and diagnosing on time. Only 83% of customers say they were updated during repair, against 96% at the best-performing network. Timely diagnosis shows the same pattern, 90% versus 97%. Closing both gaps is worth a modeled +5 NPS points.
How many after-sales problems get resolved?
About 7% of customers report a problem, and 46% of those problems remain unresolved, a share that has not improved since 2018. NPS is +7 when a problem is resolved and -36 when it is not.
What do promoters praise most in after-sales service?
Promoters increasingly cite speed (24% to 33%), communication (14% to 22%) and expertise (8% to 14%) compared with 2018 to 2020.
How was the benchmark built?
It draws on 94,151 rated customer surveys that PATH collected after service and repair events across equipment OEM dealer and service networks, from 2018 through August 2026, with duplicate records removed. Results are aggregated and anonymized.
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