Unfortunately, many people are very wrong on the quality issue.  Check out this release from JD power on vehicle dependability, and look at the brands that are above average.  Lexus tops the list, but Mercury, Cadillac, Buick and Lincoln are all in the top 10, and all are above Honda. Ford is just above average.  I’ll admit that Chrysler still has issues, but compare that to Volkswagen or Volvo which seem to hold high esteem in many people’s mind.  What has gone wrong is at the root of branding.

Brands aren’t the most recent message a consumer absorbs about a product.  It’s the collective experiences a consumer has with a brand over.  If I say a word like newspaper, you’ll bring up not only the definition, but all of the parts of the experience.  You may remember stories, ads, a product that you can take with you to the restroom, or even delivering them.  You might also think of outdated media, bias, clippings you’ve made, obituaries or other personal encounters.  It makes what we define as a newspaper have a rich context, and it isn’t just shaped by the billboard you see on your way home.

The hard part is that negative experiences can be hard to erase.  This New York Times article references quality problems encountered with Oldsmobile in the 70′s. The companies have moved a long way since then, and Oldsmobile doesn’t even exist as a brand.  The attribution of poor quality is made to “American automakers” more than a specific car, era, or brand.  Even thought this attribution is logically no longer relevant, it still shapes the authors opinions, as I’m sure it does for many consumers.  I’ll personally admit that I haven’t owned an American car since the 1995 Dodge Neon that I bought just before finishing college.  That car self destructed well before 100,000 miles, and jaded my own opinion of the domestics.

This should be a reminder to all brand owners.  Even a momentary slip on your brand’s promise can cause you to lose a customer forever.  It’s hard to get consumers to resample a product after a dissatisfactory experience.  It might even be harder than acquiring a new customer.

At the newspaper, our receptionist was not very friendly, even to employees.  However she was very efficient at screening individuals and visitors to make sure they are in the right place.  For a business like a newspaper that could have any number of people approach with less than pure intentions, she was the right choice.

However, if you are in the business of pleasing customers in your place of business a completely different approach is important.  I recently needed service on my car after a belt broke.  When we called to schedule an appointment with service the first person that we talked to was the dealerships receptionist.  She was unfriendly to the point of being rude, but at least she could connect us to the service department’s voice mail.

We left a message and had our car dropped off in the morning.  The service department did everything right.  We had our car repaired very quickly, for less than we had expected, and they told us we could pick up our car after the service department had closed.

We arrived around 7:30, straight from work with two kids in the car.  The sales people on the floor acted as if we were asking for a miracle to retrieve our car.  But at least they seemed sort of willing to help.  Then we saw our friend the receptionist.  She curtly reminded me that the service department closed at 6:00.  In the sort of tone that let me know that I was clearly an idiot.  She also told me that the two departments (sales and service) were different businesses.  Eventually the sales people found my keys and ran my credit card to have me pay.  I was certain they had done it several times before, but they made me feel like they had done me a favor.

Here’s my criticism of the dealership.  To me, the customer, there is only one dealership.  If I wanted I could very easily take my car to an independent repair shop.  Even if they run to a different P and L, to the customer service department and sales are the same.  It’s pretty likely that I’ve chosen to pay the higher price a the dealership because I believe that I will get better service.

Second.  If the receptionist is there to bridge the gap between the two sides of the dealership she should be empowered to do so.  It would have taken her just as much time and effort to express sympathy and concern as her consternation for my daring to show up after hours and expect my car.   Even though the service department had told me it wasn’t an issue and they did it all the time.

Third.  I know that sales people don’t make money helping people for service.  Not directly at least.  I was the only soul in the place and that was apparent to me.  They could help me or surf the Internet for the next 20 minutes.  Only one of those two has any chance of a future sale.  Their obvious lack of consideration for the long term ramifications of treating me like I was bothering them made me far less likely to be that purchaser.  If they did their homework they would have realized that I have owned three cars by this same manufacturer, and this one was about 7 years old.  It just had some sort of problem, so it’s pretty likely that I’m at least beginning to consider what my next car will be.  They missed a golden opportunity to leave me with a positive impression for a future sale.

The brand in this case is the sum of the experience.  I’ve been very happy with my car.  The service department performed quite well.  The receptionist and sales department’s condescending attitudes and general snobbishness left me with such a bad taste that its quite likely that I’ll stop with this brand at 3, as they are by far the nearest dealer.  Two in the pro column and two in the con isn’t likely to engender loyalty.

The brand in this case is Subaru.  The type of quirky brand that needs good word of mouth to succeed.  The tow truck driver had never driven one, and was impressed by how nice it was, to illustrate my point.  They have had it in the past with reliable cars that fill unique needs.  They lost it for me this week with a rude receptionist and shortsighted salespeople.