THE
RATIONALE & THE COVERAGE & THE METHODOLOGY
Metric Consultancy has been a pioneer in research on two-wheelers
in India. With quality taking forefront position in the new economic
order, Metric Consultancy carried out an extensive survey of problems
faced by owners of new two-wheelers in the interest of the customer,
as also for the benefit of the manufacturers. The results of this
survey are presented in the Promise Performance Monitor 2001 and
brought to you exclusively by OVERDRIVE.
Metric carried out a scientific survey of more than 3200 customers
to find out the problems faced by them within first three months
of purchasing their new two-wheeler.
Each of the over 3200 customers was asked to respond to 271 queries
with each query coming under one of 11 parameters that the survey
monitored. An exhaustive survey of this magnitude has been carried
out in India for the first time. The findings are startling. The
average two-wheeler has 1.87 problems, with the best having just
0.59 problems per vehicle.
From the PPM a prospective buyer can get to know from earlier users
the quality of the product - whether the promise made by the manufacturer
is delivered by the performance of the vehicle.
The PPM also tells the manufacturer the problems, which occur most
frequently and need to be taken care of.
METHODOLOGY HIGHLIGHTS
The questionnaire for the PPM was developed through systematic qualitative
research based on the inputs by R&D engineers and quality control
managers working in the two-wheeler industry, a selection of mechanics
and a sampling of knowledgeable purchasers of two wheelers.
The questionnaire was then thoroughly pre-tested for clarity, retention
of respondent interest and time stability.
The survey was conducted by Metric's own experienced and specially
trained full time field investigators.
Only those two-wheeler owners who had bought their vehicles not
earlier than three months were interviewed so that the problems
reported were likely to be mainly because of manufacturing quality.
The respondents were selected through an encountered sampling procedure
at select locations like petrol pumps and cinema theatres.
The collected data was checked for quality through computerised
checks on patterns and internal consistency. Data processing was
done through specially developed software.
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