ADP Dealer Services received its highest quality service ratings in its 20-plus year history, showing improvement in all categories, in a survey conducted by C.J. Olson Research, an independent firm based in Minneapolis, Minn.

The Olson Research firm, which specializes in the automotive industry, asked 8,000 customers to assess ADP's client support service in four key areas: availability, knowledge/skill, updates and an overall rating.

The independent survey showed ADP had a 30 percent increase in the areas of availability and access to a knowledgeable support representative.

"We invested $4.5 million over the past 18 months to better meet the needs of our clients," said Bill Heffern, vice president of client relations. "When an automotive or heavy truck retailer calls ADP for support, they receive a quicker response with a direct connection to an ADP support representative whose expertise is best suited to resolve their problem."

"It's all about providing ADP dealers with more choices, more flexibility and solutions," said Tom Keller, national director of client relations. According to Keller, ADP's local service centers are now connected to form a National Support Network. Using a new skills-based telephone routing infrastructure, clients have access to ADP's entire North American base of 700 support associates.

"Our clients value the local knowledge we can provide," Heffern said. "Our staff understands the issues dealers face in their respective geographies. Instead of having our support in one centralized location, ADP realizes the value of 14 local support centers. ADP associates can continue to respond to any local client issues immediately if the need arises. We wouldn't have that flexibility if all of our client support was based in a single location."

Through ADP's DealerSuite.com, retailers can report problems, receive real-time status updates, access current online documentation, and review historical data from a secure connection. "The ability to access information for all our states (40 plus) via the Internet has allowed us to track open issues from anywhere, anytime," said Kyra Drennan, vice president of information service at Lithia Automotive Group. "The availability of all case information has made an outstanding addition to the ADP support model."

"Client support has always been a top priority for ADP," said Mike Martone, president of ADP Dealer Services. "We are pleased that our investments are making a difference for our clients. As a market leader in the automotive and truck retailing industry, we will continue to deliver superior value and world-class products and services designed to meet the unique needs of our customers."

About ADP Dealer Services

ADP Dealer Services Group provides integrated computing solutions to more than 16,000 automotive and truck dealers throughout the U.S., Canada, and Europe. ADP Dealer Services is the third largest business unit of Automatic Data Processing, Inc.

More information on ADP and ADP Dealer Services Group is available at www.adp.com and www.dealersuite.com.