Any Customer Complaint Can Go Viral

We all know it's impossible to make every customer happy. There are often confusions in the automotive industry that consumers simply do not understand. They can do unreasonable things to try to get back at the dealership when they perceive that they were not treated properly.

This was a challenge a decade ago and before when word-of-mouth was arguably the most important factor in the success of a dealership. Today, that word-of-mouth has turned into "word-of-mouse" and simple things can be made explosive very quickly.

The image above (which has been removed) is one of those examples. It went popular on a social media site and a single version of it has now been viewed by nearly half-a-million people. It has spread to other venues and will likely break a million soon if it hasn't already.

These things get worse on the local level when those in the area of the dealership see it through social media and then spread it through their own channels. Competitors can get a hold of it and take advantage of it. Things like this can go from ugly to truly detrimental to business in a hurry.

The moral of the story - try to cut things off before they get to this level. It was the intention of the person who bought the vehicle to let as many local people as possible know of their opinions. They basically vandalized their own vehicle in an effort to harm the dealership that sold it to them. The person who took the picture was likely someone who simply thought it was funny and decided to spread the word. It hit hard on social media and will continue to do so for a long time. This image will appear and reappear on various social media sites for months, possibly even years.

It's not possible to make every customer happy, but try not to let it get to this point. Sometimes, it's better to take a big hit now rather than a crippling hit later.

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Comment by Timothy Martell on August 18, 2012 at 5:50pm: Daryl, the problem with a lawsuit is that it is the last thing a disgruntled customer expects. So there is no deterrent from that standpoint. Consumer complaints are the fires that must be quelled before they ever ignite.

Take the article I wrote just a few days ago about a local Nissan Dealer in Massachusetts: http://www.dealerelite.net/profiles/blogs/clay-nissan-and-the-colters

This dealership has made one wrong pr step after another over the last 2 years and it has cost them MILLION$! They are suing the family that has begun this boycott because of the alleged wrongful termination of their sister who is a stage 4 cancer patient. She could very well ride a broom stick to work every day as Clay Nissan suggests, but it doesn't matter.

With all of the cancer awareness programs out there and support for those causes the only thing a consumer will see is that they fired someone on their deathbed and took away their health insurance to save a few bucks when they needed it most. Is that the kind of company you want to do business with? They have vendors who are terminating their own service agreements so as not to be associated with the dealership! In this case it seems this isn't the first time this organization has fired an employee with cancer which inflames the situation even more.

Bottom line, when you make a mistake (legitimately or wrongly perceived) apologize, try to make it right and move on. Attempts to assert control or power once public only damage your company more.

Comment by Jim Mahoney on August 7, 2012 at 6:47am: If you get chance, in the July 30 edition of Automotive news on pg 4, there's a "Best Practices" piece written by Ryan Beene. Briefly the article mentions in the first paragraph that a customer had gone back and forth with the service manager over a warranty issue and when the customer didn't get the desired result, he turned to his 10,000 followers on Twitter (his wife has another 2,000 followers) to vent. The stores internet department got the tweet and the customer not only got his way but got business from the dealership since the customer was CEO of a marketing and design firm.

I tried to reach out to Mr. Beene to get some more information from him but he has not answered any of my queries as of yet.

When does it get to the point of being held hostage or blackmailed. I'm guessing there's a new service manager in that seat now!