In the 1930s, the comedy team of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy created the memorable line, “Well, thats another fine mess you’ve gotten me into.” Today, with lawyers circling Toyota Motor Company and American’s turning against the Toyota brand, we can surmise that the line, “Well, that’s another fine mess you’ve gotten me into” is alive and well inside Toyota.
Two stories are worth noting. The first story comes from Bloomberg, Americans saying ‘No’ to Toyota as Ford leads opinion survey . Americans are turning against Toyota Motor Corp. after sudden-acceleration complaints forced it to recall more than 8 million vehicles worldwide, while Ford Motor Co. is the most popular automaker.
More than four in 10 Americans say they “would definitely not buy a Toyota,” according to the Bloomberg National Poll. The Japanese company is viewed unfavorably by 36 percent of those interviewed, the highest negative rating in the survey, while fewer than half — 49 percent — have a favorable impression…
The second story is from the LA Times, Lawyers Circle Toyota. With Toyota Motor Corp. already facing scores of lawsuits stemming from alleged sudden acceleration incidents, about 150 lawyers gathered Wednesday for an all-day event to discuss litigation strategy over claims of deaths and injuries in accidents as well as the loss of resale value of used Toyota vehicles.
One of the themes of the event, held at the Westin Hotel in downtown San Diego, was that Toyota has erred repeatedly in dealing with the situation. Among the claimed missteps: stalling on fixing problems, stonewalling customers seeking help, and issuing a late and unsatisfying apology.
Lanier, who recently won $54-million jury verdict for a paralyzed heavy-equipment operator, said he already has a former Toyota employee ready to testify that the corporation lies as a matter of strategy “and he’s got documents to back it up.”
He charged that Toyota didn’t put enough back-up systems in its vehicles.
As I’ve noted repeatedly, Toyota’s problem is a classic Silent Problem scenario. These are problems that have been avoided, neglected, are going unnoticed or have been intentionally silenced. And what is now emerging is like following a script.
- News gains momentum: Once the story surfaces, similar stories begin to emerge adding to the depth and understanding of the Silent Problem.
- Reputation and brand damaged: As the story circulates, the reputation and brand image of the organization is tarnished, which creates short and long-term challenges to the organization.
- Maintaining market share: Once the depth of the problem is realized, organizations are compelled to sacrifice margins and profitability in an attempt to maintain market share and profitability.
Toyota’s problems are just now beginning to surface as lawsuits surface and brand loyalty is tarnished. And as Toyota’s brand suffers, brands such as Ford, Suburu, Honda and Hyundai are positioned to fill the void. Although Toyota’s stock price has recovered in recent weeks, Toyota’s future is far from over.
Tags: another fine mess, Can you trust Toyota, customer loyalty, Toyota's brand
