Brazil is roadmap for U.S. rebound

[BlackHorse]

That's not Toyota. That's the local dealer. Look at SSI scores for Toyota. They are consistently in the crapper.

 

 

Read the "whole" post again and don't take segments of it out of context Richard. You know better.

[RichardJensen]

Read the "whole" post again and don't take segments of it out of context Richard. You know better.

I did.

 

Your observations are:

 

1) Local Toyota dealer had terrible service

 

2) A new Toyota dealer down the road made quality of service a distinguishing factor ('buy from us, we'll treat you right')

 

3) Local dealer is improving service.

 

Your conclusion is:

 

Toyota is behind the improvement.

 

Frankly, I don't think that Toyota's overall SSI scores (bad, and consistently bad at that) support the conclusion that Toyota is addressing customer satisfaction on a national basis.

 

In fact, it is very tough to do so. It is hard to strip a franchise because that franchise is 'rude'.

 

It is far more likely that the owner of the local Toyota store was able to read the writing on the wall. Get better or lose business.

Edited August 23, 2007 by RichardJensen

[BlackHorse]

I did.

 

Your observations are:

 

1) Local Toyota dealer had terrible service

 

2) A new Toyota dealer down the road made quality of service a distinguishing factor ('buy from us, we'll treat you right')

 

3) Local dealer is improving service.

 

Your conclusion is:

 

Toyota is behind the improvement.

 

Frankly, I don't think that Toyota's overall SSI scores (bad, and consistently bad at that) support the conclusion that Toyota is addressing customer satisfaction on a national basis.

 

In fact, it is very tough to do so. It is hard to strip a franchise because that franchise is 'rude'.

 

It is far more likely that the owner of the local Toyota store was able to read the writing on the wall. Get better or lose business.

 

 

That was not my conclusion, that was your conclusion. Perhaps I was not clear in how I typed it. My conclusion is that eventually Toyota (the corporation not local dealer) will take a look at the issue, figure out they have a customer service issue and they will take steps to get their dealers squared away. The local dealer aspect of this was just that, a local dealer thing. It was used as evidence that there are Toyota dealers with bad customer service.

 

I agree with what you said about Toyota service FordBuyer. But I would strongly caution you not to underestimate them. For example, we have a Toyota dealer here that for some years was offering up the usual crappy service in the service department. But then a dealer 20 miles down the road came along and they made emphasis on giving top notch customer service in the service department. Pretty soon buyers were going there and taking their cars the distance for the better service. Now the more local dealer is making great strides to improve their own customer service. Toyota will look at the issue, figure out they have a customer service problem, and fix it. The advantage they have is that their company doesn't have nearly the levels of bureaucracy to cut through that the domestics do. So they can see a problem, come up with a solution and implement a fix pretty quickly.

[RichardJensen]

That was not my conclusion, that was your conclusion. Perhaps I was not clear in how I typed it. My conclusion is that eventually Toyota (the corporation not local dealer) will take a look at the issue, figure out they have a customer service issue and they will take steps to get their dealers squared away. The local dealer aspect of this was just that, a local dealer thing. It was used as evidence that there are Toyota dealers with bad customer service.

Ahhhhh.

 

Actually, my understanding is corporations don't have a lot of leverage with dealers.

[BlackHorse]

Ahhhhh.

 

Actually, my understanding is corporations don't have a lot of leverage with dealers.

 

That is my understanding as well. To that end, that much of my conclusion is somewhat speculation. I believe that if there is any company that could get their dealers on board with a unified agenda, Toyota could probably pull it off with less obstacles then say Ford, GM or Chrysler.

[RichardJensen]

I believe that if there is any company that could get their dealers on board with a unified agenda, Toyota could probably pull it off with less obstacles then say Ford, GM or Chrysler.

Why?

 

Toyota's dealers are rolling in it, and likely to give Toyota the succulent raspberry if they try and pull something.

 

Frankly, Toyota's dealers aren't like their employees in Japan, conveniently under the thumb of a company controlled union in a company town, and grateful for employment in a stagnant economy (read up on some of the dissension in Japan over Toyota's policies of, among other things, docking the pay of older workers).

 

Toyota's dealers didn't come out of nowhere. Most of them are either currently ALSO domestic dealers, or they have been in the past. They are likely to adopt the same "you can't tell me what to do" attitude towards Toyota that they have adopted with other mfrs.

 

Frankly, Toyota itself is not much attuned to the problems they're causing. True a Toyota exec did make some mouthings about 'improving customer experience', but that was only in the most vague and general of terms. It will be years, IMO, before Toyota's NA management acknowledges the depth of their customer service issues, with subsequent years spent futilely trying to eradicate ingrained bad behavior.

Edited August 23, 2007 by RichardJensen

[rshanks66]

I really wish Ford would build the EcoSport in the US or import it for here. I think they would be able to sell SCADS of that vehicle. I saw one in Mexico and it looks like a smaller Explorer, ready to go anywhere.

[jonas1022]

Don't forget the Nissan Altima of last year that could not be sold for about 6 weeks as Nissan engineers tried to figure out why engine was prone to oil fires. Sales fell drastically of course, and then Nissan comes out with new Altima this year and all is forgiven. Ditto for Nissan 350Z which has had many issues too many to even list here. And don't forget Honda's massive recall of few years ago with faulty ignition switches that meant possible fires a la Ford.

Or the Honda CRV oil fires! I would love to pay big cash for that little POS and find out that it could fire up at anytime because they redesigned the oil seal on the oil filter. And if it isn't installed properly it can and will leak oil. Resulting in oil on the road (safety issue), oil fire (hmmm, safety again), engine failure ( mechanical expenses). Wonderful car company, Honda is... NOT! They stil have not fixed this leak issue from what I know. And Consumers Reports likes them all the more.