As PR pros, we know that perception is EVERYTHING! If the public thinks your company is bad, guess what? It is.

You can spend millions and millions of dollars on marketing, but if your customer service sucks…you’re just wasting your money! And when your customers aren’t happy, they now have numerous ways to vent and share their experiences with the world. Have you heard of social media? If not, listen up – it’s pretty powerful! Remember United Breaks Guitars?

Case in point: My boyfriend, Michael, purchased a 2007 Subaru WRX from Toyota of Knoxville. The car was about 25,000 miles used and had a few aftermarket modifications. A big selling point of the car was the Toyota Lifetime Warranty they offered with it, and they assured us the car would be covered, regardless of its modified state. So we bought the car and they issued the warranty…

A few months have passed and now the car’s transmission is blown. We called the warranty company to make good on our deal with Toyota, and what does the warranty company say? “That car isn’t covered. Toyota should have never given you that warranty. I’m sorry, but I can’t help you.”

Not covered?! But Toyota told us it was! So I call Toyota and they give me some stock, “I’m sorry, we’re right/you’re wrong, we can’t help you” answer. (Even though I know they promised us the car would be covered…after all, that’s why we bought it!)

AND…while Toyota now tells me they told us the car would NOT be covered at the time (I know 4 people that beg to differ)…my question is: Why do I have a piece of paper that says “Toyota Lifetime Warranty” with Michael’s VIN # if you told us the car wasn’t covered at all?! If we don’t have a warranty, then why did you give us the warranty paper?!

In short: Toyota of Knoxville lied to us to sell a car…and now we’re out $5,000.

And this isn’t the only problem we’ve had with this dealership! A few months prior, the service department broke a clip on the Subaru’s front bumper. Instead of replacing the bumper, they GLUED it back on without telling us! When our real mechanic took it off a few weeks later to work on it, he was appalled. He literally had to rip the bumper off to remove the glue (and we later bought a new bumper)! I mean, seriously?!

And that’s not the half of it! Michael’s mother and grandmother also drive Toyota’s purchased from Toyota of Knoxville…and both refuse to go back due to the terrible service department which has overcharged Michael’s mom and because of the sales team that’s lied to his grandmother to squeeze a few hundred extra dollars out of her!

I’m sorry, but is this the way you run your business?!

This is a family who has purchased three cars from your dealership (we’ll estimate $60,000 spent), and this is how you treat them?!

In an economy where car dealerships are hurting, you’d think Toyota would take care of the few people who actually purchase cars! But Toyota of Knoxville would rather make a quick buck than have customers who actually want to return.

All in all, this is an ongoing saga for Michael and I…and it looks like we’re going to have to buy this new transmission ourselves. But as I promised Toyota of Knoxville’s manager on the phone this morning:

If I have to pay $5,000….I’ll be sure to inform other consumers about how Toyota of Knoxville does business, and hopefully Toyota will loose much more than $5,000 in the long run.

Remember what I said about the power of social media? I wasn’t kidding…

But anyway, aside from my public rant, I do have a point: If you don’t know how to treat your customers, there are now numerous outlets people can vent on. If I cause even ONE person to choose another dealership over Toyota of Knoxville, they’re out more money than I am…

I encourage companies to take a closer look at how they treat the people that keep their business alive. After all, without customers, where does that leave you?

(Stay tuned for more details in the saga. I’ve contacted Toyota USA, so we’ll see if they’re able to help)

In today’s Web 2.0 world, everyone has a voice and word-of-mouth is more powerful than ever. Of course, you can’t please everyone all the time, but it’s important for companies to recognize that they at least need to care about their customers, otherwise something like this will happen…

About a year ago when musician Dave Carroll flew United Airlines, baggage handlers broke his guitar. After discovering that United refused to compensate him for this, he created a revenge music video and uploaded it to YouTube this past Monday night.

The video, titled “United Breaks Guitars” is now a YouTube sensation and over half a million people now know about Dave’s bad experience with United.

So what I wonder is: How much will this bad publicity cost United?

– Probably more than the price of Dave’s guitar. It really is a lesson for those in the customer service industry. Now more than ever, customers have a voice and it’s very easy for them to broadcast their opinions to the world.

Now I’m not saying that companies have to give in to every crazy request a customer gives them (I worked in restaurants long enough to know this is NOT possible). HOWEVER, this is a classic case where the company WAS in the wrong. I’ve never bought a guitar but I imagine it’s not a cheap thing…so United should have just reimbursed Dave for what their baggage handlers broke.

No one wants to give their business to a company that doesn’t give a shit about its customers…and this situation is broadcasting to the world that United just doesn’t care. Of the 500,000+ people that have seen this video, how many will now no longer fly United? I honestly don’t know, but it would only take a few less tickets booked to cost the same as a new guitar would have.

Just proves the cost of bad publicity I guess…I bet United is listening to Dave now.

Want to check out Dave’s very entertaining video? Here you go: