Recently I came across an article about an incredibly large settlement that the American Suzuki Motor Corporation had been ordered to pay out to a dealer in Kansas City.  Jeremy Franklin successfully sued American Suzuki, after his brother, Chad Franklin (also a Suzuki dealer) ran a campaign that offered “No Payments For Life.”   Sounds too good to be true, right?  It was, and it created a disaster for Suzuki in the Kansas City market.  The campaign had been approved by a co-op advertising that had been paid for by American Suzuki and made all of the calls on the appropriateness of the campaign on American Suzuki’s behalf.  Luckily for Jeremy, he did not participate in his brother’s crazy gimmick, and was able to keep himself out of the private lawsuits by consumers claiming they were entitled to what the offer promised.

I have often been aggravated by the wording of advertising, which can be especially confusing while never actually bringing what it offers to fruition.  At least the “No Payments for Life” was so obvious even a 5 year old could understand what the offer promised.  However, considering that Chad Franklin had no actual intention of giving away free Suzuki vehicles, this advertisement made consumers understandably furious.  Everyone has to make money, especially those with their own businesses, but why is it necessary to “trick” buyers into your dealership?  It isn’t fair and by now it is pretty obvious that society is not going to put up with stuff like that.  If I had been denied my free Suzuki (Kizashi AWD would be my choice) not only would I have taken the steps that the other consumers did, but I would have put this dealership on “blast” everywhere from walking the city streets to Facebook to Yelp.

It is just bad business to lie to your customers, not to mention unethical.  There is a reason that car dealerships and their salesmen have reputations that are less than squeaky clean.  One would think that ANYONE who owns a dealership would try to change that stereotype instead of propelling the stigma that comes with selling cars.  I am not saying ALL car dealers are like this. In fact, there are many, even in your local area, who attempt to offer the best prices with the best quality, and don’t lie on their advertising.  But as the saying goes, there is always one bad apple in the bunch.

Jeremy Franklin will collect a total of $18.5 million in damages from American Suzuki as his brother has single-handedly killed the Suzuki market in Kansas City making it difficult for Jeremy to sell the brand.  Learn from this nutty situation and make sure your advertising does not embellish the truth, mislead, or flat out lie to your customers.  No one likes to feel taken advantage of and consumers these days are vicious, not only will they let you know, but everyone on their continent will be aware as well.  Plus, if you mislead your customers, when they do realize what has happened, they aren’t going to seek you for further services or goods.  Not to mention, creating a campaign and then not honoring what it says is completely unethical and can ruin your business and career.

Keep on top of your advertising, if you use a Co-op or firm, make sure they are someone you can trust to make your advertising decisions for you.  Lastly, don’t come up with something “too good to be true.”  If you, the creator, thinks it is one of those deals, chances are it probably will turn out to be.  Cut ties and just start over, it isn’t worth being forced into bankruptcy to save face and make sales.

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