FordBuyer Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 Click here: Ford outlines Escape fix to dealers | The Detroit News | detroitnews.com 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
papilgee4evaeva Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 (edited) Seems like most of the money is going toward customer relations. Interesting. And not such a bad idea. Edited July 20, 2012 by papilgee4evaeva Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edstock Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 Turn a minor problem into a marketing opportunity. You see, it's really not that pricey, when you turn it into an investment in supporting your brand. Marketing 101. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 When you're talking about such a small number of vehicles, even replacing them with brand new vehicles wouldn't really be very "pricey" in the big scheme of things for a company the size of Ford. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FordBuyer Posted July 20, 2012 Author Share Posted July 20, 2012 When you're talking about such a small number of vehicles, even replacing them with brand new vehicles wouldn't really be very "pricey" in the big scheme of things for a company the size of Ford. Not saying its Ford's fault because you need some luck also, but first 3500 Escapes damaged by hail storm that in itself was kind of a bad omen. Now this and hose clamp in same week. Ford needs a quiet spell with new Escape launch, because new Fusion launch starts next month. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 Ford needs a quiet spell with new Escape launch, because new Fusion launch starts next month. All Ford NEEDS is for people like you to stop telling them what they need. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoonerLS Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 Seems like most of the money is going toward customer relations. Interesting. And not such a bad idea. Thus far, the only media spin I've heard on the topic has been positive. (You know, the kind usually reserved for Toyota after they've spent years dragging their feet and finally given in to fixing the problem... ) For a rather severe (though limited) problem, it might actually be a positive for Ford--they're in the press, and they're doing their best to do right by their customers. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 Not saying its Ford's fault because you need some luck also, but first 3500 Escapes damaged by hail storm that in itself was kind of a bad omen. Now this and hose clamp in same week. Ford needs a quiet spell with new Escape launch, because new Fusion launch starts next month. Not at all. that would only matter if one vehicle's sales was much stronger than the other or if in fact there was a lot of cross competition.Escape and Fusion sales are both still strong and it's my opinion that the roll in of the CD4 Fusion will be much smoother than the 2013 Escape. For all this so called drama with recent launches, sales of Focus and Escape are still very strong with increased ATPs compared to their predecessors. That is no accident or lucky outcome, it's a combination of good products by Ford coupled with good service and customer relations by dealers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ANTAUS Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 Ford just needs to focus on better quality launches.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twintornados Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 When you're talking about such a small number of vehicles, even replacing them with brand new vehicles wouldn't really be very "pricey" in the big scheme of things for a company the size of Ford. The only "danger" is that once you start doing that, customers will expect a new car for every problem that creeps up....just keep doing what you are doing Ford.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackHorse Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 Turn a minor problem into a marketing opportunity. You see, it's really not that pricey, when you turn it into an investment in supporting your brand. Marketing 101. Oh brother, you got the blue koolaid just running through your veins dontcha? lol A minor problem is a power side mirror that quits working or a rattle in your passenger door because a speaker didn't get tightend down all the way. Telling customers not to drive their vehicle because it may catch fire is in fact a MAJOR problem. Secondly, Ford is not cleverly turning this into some marketing opportunity, wink wink. How you even come to that conclusion escapes me (no pun intended). They are doing what they have to do in order to fix the problem. They are providing owners with a loaner car while they fix the affected Escapes. That's not a "marketing opporunity", it's just common sense. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FordBuyer Posted July 21, 2012 Author Share Posted July 21, 2012 Oh brother, you got the blue koolaid just running through your veins dontcha? lol A minor problem is a power side mirror that quits working or a rattle in your passenger door because a speaker didn't get tightend down all the way. Telling customers not to drive their vehicle because it may catch fire is in fact a MAJOR problem. Secondly, Ford is not cleverly turning this into some marketing opportunity, wink wink. How you even come to that conclusion escapes me (no pun intended). They are doing what they have to do in order to fix the problem. They are providing owners with a loaner car while they fix the affected Escapes. That's not a "marketing opporunity", it's just common sense. Lead story on local TV news today was young woman from Waterford fighting with Suburban Ford about getting a loaner in timely fashion. She's been waiting for two days for a loaner, and her one month old new Escape was her only source of transportation to get to work. So she's been driving it to her job last two days, and upset that finally after Ford dealer promising loaner car, they say she has to drive with flat bed operator back to dealership to pick it up. Kicker was only time they could get her was at 4PM when she is not home from work yet. Local news was on her for still driving it, but she said he had no choice. Very pretty girl, and she said no way was she driving alone with flad bed operator. Anyway, local news called the Glass House, and they jumped all over the place saying they would personally pick her up and make sure no Ford dealership makes customer wait two days and forces them to take ride in flat bed. Not sure how you can spin this into positive, even for the slappies on here. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fordmantpw Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 Lead story on local TV news today was young woman from Waterford fighting with Suburban Ford about getting a loaner in timely fashion. She's been waiting for two days for a loaner, and her one month old new Escape was her only source of transportation to get to work. So she's been driving it to her job last two days, and upset that finally after Ford dealer promising loaner car, they say she has to drive with flat bed operator back to dealership to pick it up. Kicker was only time they could get her was at 4PM when she is not home from work yet. Local news was on her for still driving it, but she said he had no choice. Very pretty girl, and she said no way was she driving alone with flad bed operator. Anyway, local news called the Glass House, and they jumped all over the place saying they would personally pick her up and make sure no Ford dealership makes customer wait two days and forces them to take ride in flat bed. Not sure how you can spin this into positive, even for the slappies on here. Dealers do more damage to Ford's reputation than this recall ever will. Taking two days to get a loaner is the dealer's fault, plain and simple. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 This is no good, if Ford is telling drivers to immediately stop driving their new cars and that they will be collected for repair work, then it should be their responsibility to deliver a loaner when the owner's car is picked up, if Ford can't do that then they fail. End of story. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YT90SC Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 Don't worry, Ford won't lose money on this. They will take it out of the repairing technician's pocket to reduce their costs on the backside. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edstock Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 Not sure how you can spin this into positive, even for the slappies on here. You can't spin it in to a positive. The story doesn't indicate whether she made any attempt to get somebody in the Ford service/customer relations involved or not. It's too bad, shouldn't have happened. Fortunately, it doesn't appear to happen too often. As a Porsche slappy, I'm sure you realize it's not a perfect world. That's by way of pointing out that this will probably happen again, which is why marketing people drink too much. You sell that many cars, this grief will happen. Be nice if Ford could keep it out of the TV news, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 The question is whether Ford is doing everything it can. They still have to work through the dealerships so they're somewhat at their mercy to follow through. One thing they could do is allow owners to get their own rental cars and reimburse them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasonj80 Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 Dealers do more damage to Ford's reputation than this recall ever will. Taking two days to get a loaner is the dealer's fault, plain and simple. That's the Truth - Also Suburban Ford is one of the worst Ford dealers in Metro Detroit, and part of the worst dealer group I have the dealt with. This coming from them isn't really that shocking to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoser768 Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 (edited) Don't worry, Ford won't lose money on this. They will take it out of the repairing technician's pocket to reduce their costs on the backside. You can bet they will take it out on the supplier. We supplied hydraulic hoses for a large ag/construction customer, and one of my brain dead co-workers forgot to crimp the end on an assembly, During testing it blew off and spewed oil all over the hot exhaust manifold and started a fire. We got charged for the entire destroyed machine ($60-70K) cleanup, and downtime for the assembly line. It was close to six figures by the time it was over. Whoever scored that hose is going to pay for it. Edited July 22, 2012 by Hoser768 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BORG Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 (edited) I have no problem with warranty work if the service is smooth and convenient (and the problem is actually solved!). My 2005 Lincoln LS would curl my hair today if it wasn't for the superb service at my local dealership, always took home another loaner (opportunity!) to test drive. Ford is going above and beyond and that's reassuring, I know this is a company that is motivated to do the best but I hate when I see regression on something they've nailed previously. Regardless, and as I've said many times, Ford is still the content king on the road right now so I am very pleased by their relentless progress moving forward and can understand some growing pains. They fixed MFT/MLT to my satisfaction, so I have no doubt they can get their act together eventually. But I have so much pride in this company that any misstep hits me right in the gut, I take it personally because I stake my reputation on the defense of the company and its products. What people consider to be trolling here is actually an emotional response to something that matters very much to me. And Ford is the only company that draws such irrational and emotional loyalty from me (that's right, not even Apple can do that!). And the fact I'm still here means that Ford has done very little to alienate me or other companies have done very little to impress me. And Ford has never been in such superb condition across the board, I've been waiting decades for the Ford I'm seeing now and that's still very exciting. It's easy to loose sight of that when minor quibbles pop up along the way. Edited July 22, 2012 by BORG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
transitman Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 A feel good article about the fuel line recall. http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1077972_fords-urgent-2013-escape-recall-is-quick-painless Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 How long did he get to keep the valet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
97svtgoin05gt Posted July 27, 2012 Share Posted July 27, 2012 All this stuff is doing nothing but hurting this awesome comeback story of Ford. I know its difficult to foresee every single problem but this is a very important vehicle for Ford. More important than say the Taurus, Flex or Edge. And although this is only affecting a small cross section of units, the way the media blows up whenever Ford even SLIGHTLY mis-steps causes great injury. The "Found on road dead" comments on Yahoo over the accellerator issue on the older units are out of control. It does nothing but give the naysayers (of whom there are many) fuel for their fires. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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