Study reveals owners are satisfied with PNDs despite some hitches

J.D. Power and Associates, a leading authority in the automotive industry, revealed that two thirds (66%) of Portable Navigation Device (PND) owners have has encountered some problems with it. But then, almost all owners (95%) subjected in the firm’s 2007 Portable Navigation Device Usage and Satisfaction Study (SM) said that the device still meets or even exceeds their expectations.

This is the first year that J.D Power have conducted the study it measured the devices’ reliability along six areas including: ease of use, routing, system appearance, speed of system, voice directions and navigation display screen. In the six areas, the consumers reported that they are most satisfied in the overall appearance and voice directions. The lowest in the satisfaction ratings was the system speed category.

Out of 100 PND units, the average problems encountered were as high as 225 problems.

"When experiencing a problem, customers who contacted the manufacturer directly-via online or telephone-for support were much more satisfied than those who returned back to the retail store," said Mike Marshall, director of automotive emerging technologies at J.D. Power and Associates. "This suggests that retail store representatives may lack the necessary knowledge of the products being sold. However, the direct support provided through the manufacturer may be more knowledgeable and better equipped to answer questions and assist customers with their issues."

The study results also include the following key findings:
-- Advanced functionality on portable navigation devices can lead to higher overall satisfaction ratings. For example, owners with text-to-speech functionality on their device provide considerably higher ratings in the voice directions factor.

-- Portable navigation owners report high levels of brand loyalty with more than 90 percent indicating they "definitely/probably" will repurchase from the same brand.

-- Overall, portable navigation device owners rate the value of their devices relatively high, demonstrating that prices are well aligned with owner expectations.