Team Alpha 375

It’s Time for Toyota to Visit the Truth Doctor.
By Noah Rickun

My wife and I have two young daughters. Before our first was born, we transformed our house into a child safety zone. Goodbye glass coffee table, hello cushy ottoman. All of our cabinets suddenly required a college degree to open, and our electrical outlets became impossible to use. We wanted to do everything to ensure that our kids would be safe and happy.

When our second daughter was born, my wife felt it was time for a new car. She needed a new car because hers didn’t have the LATCH system. (For any parent who raised children before this millennium, this is probably a foreign term). Also, her car was a sedan, rather than a big SUV like most other suburban warriors were driving. I live by the philosophy that a happy wife equals a happy life; and so began our search for an SUV.

We put the same effort into our new car search as we did with baby-proofing our house. And after an exhausting process, the Toyota Sequoia appeared to be a great vehicle for us. When we went to pick it up, we were surprised how BIG it was in person! I could tell that my wife was a bit frustrated with the size of the Sequoia, but she kept it because she felt safe. She perceived that it was the best option for our girls. It was the best option… until that fatal day several weeks ago when the news about the Toyota accelerator pedal hit the airwaves. We anxiously waited for a response from Toyota, the most trusted brand. And then it happened. Decades of trust were wiped away in a matter of days by Toyota’s pathetic attempt to maintain credibility.

While Toyota instantly lost corporate trust, I found a beacon of hope in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I was several states away at the time the news hit, and was concerned about whether or not the Sequoia was safe to drive -- so I immediately called my Toyota dealer, Andrew Toyota, to ask for advice. To my surprise, I reached the owner of the dealership on my first attempt. Andy Schlesinger (Andy is short for Andrew, THE Andrew in Andrew Toyota) gave me his best advice on how to take precautions while continuing to drive our Sequoia (what to do about the floor mats, what to do if the accelerator sticks, etc) and then assured me he would have our recall procedure done quickly. I’ve known Andy for a few years and my family has been buying Toyota’s from his dealership for three decades, so I assumed that when Andy offered to schedule the accelerator fix the very next day AND PICK UP the Sequoia from our house he was giving me special treatment. Not the case. Andy kept his service center open seven days a week and longer hours each day to be sure that he took care of EVERY customer. If you live in Milwaukee, you may have seen Andy’s TV commercials that always end with “Andrew Toyota—Where customer service is not a department, it’s our passion!” Andy and his staff live by that maxim and it shows.

I used to trust Toyota quality and value. Today, I am skeptical. Millions of others have written off Toyota forever. But I trust Andy Schlesinger. Had Toyota followed Andy’s example of being proactive, admitting fault, and offering answers and solutions, then Toyota would have strengthened its reputation as a responsible and customer-focused automotive manufacturer.

So what can we learn from Toyota’s poor decision? Here are five takeaways about trust:

1. It always costs less to fix the problem than to not fix the problem.
2. Trust takes years to earn, yet only moments to lose.
3. There is nothing more valuable to a company than trust. If your customers trust you, selling is easy. If you lose that trust, you will eventually lose the customer.
4. Being known as trustworthy is far more important than being known as clever, smart, innovative, or trendy.
5. Trust is all about consistency, reliability, and truthfulness. If you are consistently truthful, your customers will feel that they can rely on you.

Is your company trusted? Are YOU trusted?