Hey IT Nerd! Now That You’ve Driven A Ford, Will You Dump Toyota?
Since I reviewed the Ford Explorer not too long ago, I’ve gotten a few e-mails asking me if I’ll dump my Toyota Matrix. To adequately answer that, I’ll have to do a fair amount of explaining.
First, the experience I had with the Ford Explorer was very positive. I loved the vehicle. It drove well. It was well put together. It had cutting edge technology. Clearly Ford builds a quality product. If the rest of their lineup is like this, then I will say that they are an automaker to be reckoned with.
Now over to Toyota. The Matrix that my wife and I own was our first experience with Toyota. But that experience did not get off to the best start as I’ve documented here previously. But since then, I have to report that I have had no issues with the car. None. Zip. Zero. Nada. So that’s a good thing. However, our reason for being gunshy about getting another Toyota vehicle comes from the way we were treated during that unfortunate experience. Customer service goes and resolving an issue in a timely manner goes a long way towards encouraging repeat business.
So with that out of the way, let me answer the question. Will I dump Toyota for Ford? I don’t know for sure, but the fact that Ford reached out to me and allowed me to drive one their vehicles for a week says something about the company. Yes it says that they want to get their name out there as much as possible, and letting a blogger drive a $50K SUV helps with that. But it also says that Ford wants to prove to the world that they make class leading vehicles. It also shows that they know that a positive public image is more than having a Twitter feed and a Facebook page. Now to be fair, I’ve never experienced Ford’s customer service. But given everything I’ve experienced so far, I have to say that my experience so far has left me with the “warm fuzzies.”
Contrast that with Toyota. I am certain that Toyota has read my stories on my experience with the Matrix. Yet I can say that nobody has reached out to me talk to me about it. That’s what I would do if someone took as much effort as I did to document an unfortunate customer service experience with them. Especially someone who’s blog picks up at worst about 1000 hits a day. Perhaps Toyota doesn’t feel they have to do that. I don’t know for certain and perhaps never will.
I do know this. The next time I do look for a car, I will seriously look at Ford. I’ll look at other brands as well. But barring some sort of major change (such as Toyota reaching out to me), one brand I will not be looking at is Toyota. I really don’t get the “warm fuzzies” from them. That is a major factor in my decision making process.
Am I being harsh or am I on the mark? Leave a comment below and share your thoughts.
April 26, 2012 at 5:40 am
Customer Service is indeed important I purchased a Ford Escape in November 2011, and the Service has been courteous and timely. Calls are returned promptly and problems fixed quickly. I previously owned a Hyundai Tucson and have to admit their customer Service was also beyond reproach. Indeed I returned to their local dealership when I was again in the Market, but unfortunately didn’t like the new Tucson. The Changes they’ve made in this product were not to my liking. It remains to be seen if I’ll like the changes they make in the 2013 Escape, but as I understand EcoBoast will be available on the V6 which was not available on the 2011. therein lays my one complaint with the Ford Gas Mileage, it is rated at 11.5 L per 100Km. but I didn’t get below 14L per 100 Km all winter, and I consider myself a resonably conservative driver.