...:: Ford Appreciation?
..:: Ford Appreciation? by Florence S. Battle
You only have to read the newspaper to know that Ford Motor Company is in financial difficulty worldwide. It has recently hired Mr. Kenneth Leet to ‘evaluate the business’ according to its CEO, William Clay Ford, Jr. Perhaps they could have saved his salary and just spoken with some of us who own a Ford and have dealt with their service.
I have been without my Ford Focus C-Max 61 days since April, 2006. Since November 5, 2005 when the car was only 15 months old, it has been in for repair fifteen times. The Ford dealership, Reed of Trowbridge, has been unable to determine the intermittent mechanical difficulty even though they have been in constant communication with Ford Technical. In February, I shared my increasing concern about the safety of the vehicle, explaining that I would be taking three children on a road trip through Europe in June and was told that if the car wasn’t fixed by that time, it would be replaced.
In June the dealership’s managing director apologized, stating he was incorrect because the car was more than a year old. The car continued to have problems, Ford continued to promises ‘fixes’, none of which were forthcoming, nor, as I was told in April, ever existed. Following mechanical work in June, I was promised that taking the car on holiday should be no problem. Wisely I invested in RAC European cover before leaving on the 21st of June because on June 30th, with the three children in the car, the car died in France. Ford’s response was that I should contact them when I got home. I and the RAC were left to deal with the problem.
The next week was a haze of issues and a ruined trip for the three children and me. The car was eventually repatriated to the dealership on the 19th of July where it remains now waiting for the replacement of the transmission. In a meeting with the managing director on July 26th, I was informed that unless this latest repair took place, the car would have no value and I could not sell it. I was told it would be repaired under warranty, but as with all the other repairs previously, there was no guarantee that the continuing mechanical problem would be fixed.
I shared my fear of driving the car, the fact that it clearly had not been repaired in the 14 previous visits to the dealership, and that the car’s demise in France was the last straw. I asked what the value of the car would be and was told an amount far less than book value. Ford Customer Relations offered to add a ‘customer appreciate certificate’ of £1500 but only if I purchased another Ford. I indicated that based on my experiences since November, I would not be purchasing another Ford and was told that this decision would certainly affect any compensation.
As a customer, I feel Ford’s behavior has been appalling. Their idea of appreciation certainly differs from mine. They’ve placed me in a vehicle which they will not guarantee is fit for purpose or safe to drive. They then want to hand me a ‘certificate of appreciation’ so I can buy another one that may be just like it. I have written to Roelant de Waard, head of Ford UK, but he hasn’t had the courtesy to respond to my correspondence. Perhaps Mr. Leet and Ford Motor Company can learn from those of us who have purchased Fords and have had these experiences that we’re not best pleased when we are sold products which are continually defective and which Ford doesn’t stand behind.
Why would we buy from a company which in my opinion, clearly doesn’t care about its customers, is in financial difficulty, and one which doesn’t provide adequate service or courtesy. We can and will take our business to companies like Toyota, which according to recent news, seems to have increased its sales by 11.7% in the US alone, while Ford’s has fallen 35%. It must have something to do with customer satisfaction. Perhaps they can ‘appreciate’ that.
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..:: About the Author:
I'm a personal assistant to a property developer and have lived in England for two years. I formerly taught special needs students for more than thirty years in the United States.
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