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Reputation Management: The SierraMan Saves “Think Ford”
Welcome back to Reputation Management! Here we reveal the underbelly of ordinary automotive retailers—places like car dealers and service shops—with fictional service tales inspired by real customer reviews. How do we make these stories seem like they could really happen? Because of my years of experience with a Fortune 500 automotive retailer as a—you guessed it—reputation manager. —Sajeev
Silicon Valley tech companies have a habit of unleashing their products on specific countries first, but sometimes we Americans beat everyone else to the punch. Opportunities must be capitalized upon, and fortune favors the bold. But not just for tech and finance bros looking to equate market share into sky-high valuations: Reputation Managers also benefited from these advance screenings.
So let me tell you the moment when Reputation Management for car dealerships crossed the pond. I was attending the same all-hands meeting where I was surprised with a hug, and I befriended CarCountry’s British delegation during a cocktail hour. I had hoped a few drinks would make them more amiable to my introductory sales pitch. Too bad I put my foot in my mouth. Turns out the fundamentals of car sales do not remain constant across continents, and I experienced the taste of defeat at the hands of Dominic, the CEO of CarCountry UK.
British advertising standards are historically restrictive, and it wasn’t until the upstart Datsun brand shook things up that the established OEMs felt the need to sell cars on TV. (Apparently Datsun’s push into England was even more aggressive than mine.) But CarCountry UK does not advertise on TV or radio, likely because they are a dealer, not a manufacturer. While we were making bank on Google search engine marketing and targeted Facebook advertising stateside, they were still examining how places like Facebook and Google fit into their sales and marketing equation.
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Dominic went further, politely informing me that our Ford dealerships did battle with dealerships directly owned by Ford of Europe. That made things even more complicated. Turns out he was the former CEO of those Ford-owned dealerships, so I made a last-ditch effort to build rapport with the guy. Because, anyone who worked that long for Ford probably has some positive feelings about the brand. Or so I hoped.
So on the spot, I came up with my own Music City Miracle, sort of a Hail Mary in hatchback form.
I told him I imported a Ford Sierra Ghia to the States just a few months ago.
Dominic was gobsmacked at the sight of a dark brown Ford Sierra with “Y-reg” plates parked on Houston city streets. The car paid for itself that very evening.
And the gamble paid off in more ways than one, as Dominic also offered glowing introductions of me to his staff, complete with a new nickname: I was now “SierraMan,” and I offered a proven combination of software and staffing to manage your online reputation.
CarCountry U.K. was officially my domain, my sandbox for implementations and experimentations. Or should I say it was officially the domain of SierraMan?
Like any good superhero, I did what I do best. CarCountry UK’s Google, Facebook, Twitter, etc. profiles were optimized with facility and product photography, treated to monitoring by my team (while they rested in the GMT time zone), and was sprinkled with ongoing support from U.K.-level staff to keep the pages fresh and relevant. I started it all with the brand I know best: Ford dealerships. CarCountry’s UK Ford stores were called “Think Ford,” and are not to be confused with the electric vehicle with the same name.
***
Think Ford had several locations in cities north of London, and all were handled by a marketing manager named Thea. We officially met on a phone call after exchanging a few emails. I’d like to think we had great rapport after all the work I did on Think Ford’s online channels, but it was only a matter of time before that rapport was put to the test with a customer review.
Luckily, after a few chats on Skype with Thea and the assistant service manager at Think Ford in Reading, we were all on the same page about what happened (we screwed up) and what we should do (apologize like its going out of style).
It’s unfortunate that the car business is dependent on so many people working like a well-oiled machine to provide perfect customer service. Even worse, this business doesn’t exactly do a great job retaining these people for decades of employment. But it’s worse when you realize “we” made a huge mistake right before someone drives home for Christmas. Both Thea and the team at Think Ford’s Reading location had the right attitude. They just needed me as a sounding board of sanity.
Mission accomplished: Think Ford bent over backwards to try to make up for what happened over the Christmas holiday, and Thea wrote a wonderful reply back to the customer on Google. While I, ahem, SierraMan, does not know the final outcome, at least the whole team did their best to resolve the situation.
That’s the funny thing about the car business: We do our best, most socially responsible work with erasers, not pencils.
Realizing the worst was over, Thea decided this was a good time to lighten the mood for everyone on both continents. Apparently I was pronouncing the word “Reading” in Think Ford Reading incorrectly, and now is a good time to correct me.
Both Thea and the Think Ford staff giggled after finishing the correction. As someone who immersed himself in U.K. slang and modern conversationalist acts by watching Man Down and the Toast of London on Netflix so I, I mean SierraMan, could be more endearing to his U.K. counterparts, perhaps my response went a bit off the rails.
“So wait, if you go to the library in Redding and ask for some books, do you ask for Redding or Reading material?
‘Oh, please kind sir, give me a book to Red!’
I am expecting you folks not to make stuff up! Your counterparts in Texas need this decorum from their English counterparts, mate.”
My taste in U.K. comedy may be suspect, but they indeed laughed after that. Years later, Thea and other Marketing types visited the corporate office, and I was part of their tour of all things CarCountry. Since Social Media websites and Reputation Management are a universal language, nobody in the office was surprised to see we had already met, planned, and executed on big things. So I was recruited to take everyone out for dinner, which I gladly accepted.
After dinner, I took everyone for some light shopping to take advantage of the weak U.S. dollar, but I left my Ford Sierra at home. (It was spec’d without air conditioning, because of course it was.) Nobody asked to see it either, which I found surprising considering how presumably famous SierraMan was to CarCountry UK. That all changed the next morning, as Thea rushed to my office, luggage in hand, looking in an exhausted and frustrated state.
“Sajeev, please tell me you know who SierraMan is!”
“You know about SierraMan?”
“Dom went to every Think Ford dealership and personally checked every back room for anything pertaining to the Ford Sierra. It surprised a lot of people to see a CEO digging around for old literature. But he made it very clear that I had to deliver everything he found to SierraMan before I was allowed to come back home!”
“And they didn’t tell you who SierraMan was?”
(Pulls plastic Think Ford bag from luggage) “Mate, please!”
“Fear not, Thea. It is I who is the legendary SierraMan! Tell Dominic that I’m beyond chuffed at what he did for me. He went above and beyond for a mere Reputation Manager. SierraMan will not forget this act of generosity for as long as he lives.”
He never did. And he never will.
The Reputation Manager will return…
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I could have used a Reputation Manager on my first visit to the shops in Cornwall when I asked for a “pay-stee”for lunch. I was informed by the shopkeeper the Cornish meat pie is pronounced “pah-stee”
So can yo get me a Sierra RS? Asking for a friend.
Ya know, when I bought this Sierra back in 2011 it was only 850 quid. If I was a wealthier man I’d likely say a Sierra RS was downright affordable back then!
I just realized you referred to the “Music City Miracle” Shame on you! Yet another “Day of Infamy” in Buffalo sports history. Have you no decency,Sir?
After what Buffalo did to my beloved Oilers back in 1993? No shame on my end, only surprise as its now called “The Comeback.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Comeback_(American_football)