Toyota (Sales)

8/7/2019 Toyota (Sales)

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What went wrong at Toyota?

The primary issue that arose was the recalls (3) issued at the end of 2009 and

the start of 2010. These recalls questioned the safety of Toyota vehicles and has

caused a public relations disaster for Toyota’s brand and image. Furthermore, in terms

of Toyota’s dealership, it is evident that dealership personnel must be more attentive toany safety concerns customers may have about Toyota vehicles. Incidences related to

this have contributed to the negative press that Toyota has been receiving. For

example, in August of 2009, a family of 4 was killed due to a collision caused by

unintended acceleration in a loaner Lexus ES 350. Although this tragedy is enough to

cause people to question the safety of Toyota and Toyota affiliated vehicles, what

occurred at the dealership this ES 350 was attained from is far more concerning. Prior

to the collision, a customer who was driving the same vehicle reported incidences of

unintended acceleration. Had the dealership investigated the complaint further, perhaps

this whole ordeal could have been avoided. In addition, the customer who rented the ES

350 prior to its collision stated his bewilderment to the fact that the dealership had donenothing to rectify his complaint.

What hypotheses can the teams generate to determine what are thenext steps for the company? What evidence do you have to support ordiscount any of these hypotheses?

“Toyota’s prosperity also owes a large debt to its dealers, the true links to the

consumer, who are very good at letting company executives know what customers like

and don’t like” (nytimes, 2007). As evidenced by this statement made by Jon Gertner in

the New York Times, it is clear that Toyota needs to ensure its customers that their

voices are being heard. Therefore, stories such as the one mentioned above should

either never occur or never be printed. Furthermore, as illustrated by the ES 350

incidence, it is crucial that every customer feels that his or her concerns for any Toyota

vehicles are heard. According to reports, the customer who used the ES 350 days prior

to its collision had mentioned the issue to the receptionist. The receptionist recalls

mentioning this issue to the detail specialist. However, the detail specialist does not

recall anyone mentioning this issue. Therefore, in order to rectify this issue, every

complaint regarding the safety of a Toyota vehicle must be reported to the highest

authority of the dealership in order to ensure that their vehicle is not defective.

Additionally, complaints must be followed up to allow customers to feel that they are

being heard by Toyota.

Toyota must also embark on a large public relations campaign to guarantee

customers that their dealers are doing everything in their power to provide the best

service possible. For instance, the largest Toyota Motor Corp. dealership (Longo

Toyota) in the United States is keeping its service department open 24 hours a day to

meet demand from customers with vehicles being recalled. In addition, the service



department’s waiting area features a Starbucks and Subway to allow customers to feel

comfortable in a Toyota dealership. This dealership is also providing transportation to

and from a nearby theatre to entertain customers while they wait for their vehicles to be

repaired or serviced. Thus, through associating Toyota’s dealerships with a positive and

comforting environment, then perhaps Toyota can re-instill confidence in returning

buyers.

Although many collisions caused by unintended acceleration in a Toyota vehicle

might be due to driver error, it is crucial that Toyota never blames the customer. The

Wall Street Journal reports, “Even when dealers and auto makers suspect driver error, it

is difficult for them to outright blame their customers for fear of alienating them or

appearing insensitive”. Therefore, in order to continue building a life lasting relationship

between its customers and its vehicles, Toyota must never alienate their customer by

blaming a collision due to their actions rather than the vehicle itself.

Lastly, in terms of national public relations, it has been suggested that Toyotahires the same firm that dealt with Paris Hilton and Chris Brown’s respective scandals.

This may produce an adverse effect to Toyota’s image as Toyota prides itself on being

transparent and open to customers. Therefore, rather than hide behind a pompous

campaign based off self-promotion, it would be beneficial to have executives of Toyota

address the public. This would reinforce the idea that Toyota (rather than a PR firm) is

listening attentively to what their customers have to say.

What conclusions can be drawn? What recommendations?

In order for Toyota to continue as one of the largest and most reliable automobile

manufacturers, it must provide customers a feeling of a close relationship between them

and their Toyota vehicle. This can be accomplished by ensuring complaints at the

dealership level are heard throughout the Toyota hierarchy. Furthermore, a positive

environment must be associated with the recall in order for customers to want to

continue purchasing Toyota vehicles. In addition, ostracizing a customer through

blaming their collision due to driver error must never occur. Toyota must take full

responsibility in the event that one of their vehicles is involved in a collision of

questionable circumstance. Lastly, Toyota must address the public directly to fortify the

concept that Toyota communicates with its customers directly.

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Toyota (Sales)