Welcome to the REV. A weekly briefing on what the Auto industry can learn about customer experience from millions of Google reviews. Every Thursday, we Rank, Explore, & Visualize automotive reputation and sentiment data.
We just launched our 2024/2025 reports. The 2025 Brand Reputation Scorecard and the 2024 Voice of the Customer Report are now live.
Read online. Subscribe to REV
Asbury Automotive Group announced its blockbuster acquisition of Herb Chambers Companies for a staggering $1.34B this week.
The move strengthens Asbury’s presence in New England, a key strategic region.
“Herb is an icon in Boston, and he has built a world-class organization, with a strong reputation for serving his guests and being highly engaged in the communities,” said David Hult, Asbury’s President and CEO in the acquisition release.
This begs the question, how strong is the Herb Chambers customer experience?
Widewail is in a unique position to put the Herb Chambers experience directly up against Asbury’s using data from the Widewail Automotive Reputation Index. What will Asbury gain?
The following data is from 2024 and is based on Google Reviews only.
Fundamental Reputation Data and Top 150 Group Rankings
Reputation Rank
Asbury: 11th
Herb Chambers: 46th
Review Volume (average monthly review total per rooftop)
Asbury: 43
Herb Chambers: 17
Star Rating
Asbury: 4.53
Herb Chambers: 4.68
Percentage of Negative Reviews
Asbury: 12.2%
Herb Chambers: 8%
View top 150 reputation rankings
Where Asbury is Outperforming Herb Chambers
Staff Sentiment
Compared to Asbury, Staff are mentioned in negative Herb Chambers reviews 23% more often.
Sales Department Concerns
Herb’s sales department has 27% more negativity than Asbury, indicating potential friction in the buying process.
Review Volume and Rankings
Of the Top 150 dealer groups we studied in 2024, Asbury ranks 11th overall, while Herb is 46th—primarily due to Herb receiving significantly fewer monthly reviews per rooftop. Herb Chambers generates only 37% of the review volume that Asbury does.
Deals and Promotions
The topic of “deals” appears 30% less often in Herb’s positive reviews; this suggests that customers perceive fewer promotional incentives or negotiations compared to Asbury. This could be viewed as a win for Herb Chambers, indicating that it relies less on deals to move vehicles.
View Asbury’s Reputation Scorecard
Where Herb Chambers is Outperforming Asbury
Customer Ratings
Despite lower review volume, Herb Chambers locations tend to receive higher individual ratings than Asbury locations.
Financing Experience
Customers report 18% less financing-related negativity at Herb Chambers compared to Asbury.
Communication Positivity
Herb Chambers sees 23% more positive communication-related feedback, a promising sign for customer engagement.
Service & Repair Parity
Feedback on repair and service experiences is nearly identical between the two companies, meaning this area may see little disruption after the acquisition.
View Herb Chambers's Reputation Scorecard
My Take
The data suggests these groups complement each other fairly well. They can learn from each other’s strengths.
How is Asbury maintaining a high review volume? Herb Chambers should implement its process. What are Herb Chamber stores doing to create a superior financing experience? Asbury ought to figure that out.
Herb Chambers has a unique combination of above-average rating (4.57 is 2024 benchmark), with solid performance in communication and the finance department, two dimensions of CX where many struggle.
What’s your take, are these two a good fit? Reply and I’ll add the commentary to next week’s REV.
I shared last week Widewail was hosting a Webinar on reputation management with ASOTU. Over 200 people have registered so far. It’s 30-minutes and I think you’ll find it productive.
The recording and slide deck for download are now live: Reputation Management Masterclass: Benchmarks, Strategies, and how Dealers are Leveraging AI in 2025
See you next week - Jake, Marketing at Widewail
