Dear Mary Barra – Tuning Up GM’s Reputation Repair
Dear Mary,
Thank you for your letter about the GM recall repair work for my car’s faulty ignition. You may be glad to note that I was not among those killed by this manufacturing defect. I am glad to note that you have been only scorched, and not immolated, by the firestorm this crisis has generated among regulators, media, industry pundits, suppliers, employees and dealership partners.
But let’s talk about your most important audience – customers like me. Now, don’t get me wrong, I appreciated your letter. I assume it was a mail-merge job from a GM ownership database. That’s OK, because you plucked out my first name for the salutation line. I felt as if you were talking directly to me.
Right out of the gate, you apologized for the delay getting replacement parts for my car. There was a foul up. You ‘fessed up. And you promised you’d fix the issue. “…We have been working … to get additional production lines up and running three shifts a day, seven days a week.” But then, in bold font, you said “As soon as parts are available, your dealer will reach out to you so you can schedule an appointment … [and] replace your recalled ignition free of charge.”
That’s where the letter came to a screeching halt for me. You see, Mary, I had my recall work done on July 26. I didn’t get your letter (dated August 7) until August 15. Did your communications staff check the database of customers who had their recall work done? I tried to ask them, but your web site won’t let me call or e-mail them because I am no longer a member of the media, your customer contact chat wasn’t running (even though I tried to chat during business hours) and no one answered the e-mail I sent via your “Contact Us” web page.
It may be gratuitous but, since you tried to help me as an auto industry expert, I’ll try to help you as a crisis communications expert, free of charge:
- Brainstorm and include as many scenarios for audience outreach as possible in your communication strategy.
- Make sure you’re getting good information from dealership partners about recall work progress.
- Most important, make sure communication is not only one-way. Give customers an easy way to contact you with general questions and answer their questions in a timely fashion.
Oh, and one more very important thing: you didn’t mention that this defect killed people until the fourth paragraph, and your language was tepid at best (“…we have implemented a special compensation program for those who lost loved ones”). I understand your legal concerns, but where’s the emotion and contrition? You seem to feel worse about my parts delay than about people dying.
After all, a GM mechanic can fix my HHR ignition, but a compensation program can’t fix the hole in the hearts and souls of the 13 families who lost loved ones to a defect your company has known about since 2001 – a fix your company’s own internal e-mails said would have cost GM 90 cents per car, and dismissed out of hand in 2005 as too expensive.
Thank you,
Howard Fencl