I’m in a very dysfunctional relationship right now – with Saturn.
Today I got my email survey from Saturn. I’ve been waiting for it. As some of you may know, I was a crazy loyal Saturn owner. I’ve owned 5 Saturns over a 15 year period. I included my Saturn story in my first book. I have the mug, bumper sticker, key chain, license plate holder (I heart my Saturn).
But lately, they have disappointed me. Big time.
I blogged about the faux pas of the XM radio and their second survey trying to get a high rating from me. I also threatened to leave them. But I can’t. I’m still trying.
I found out last week that the Smithtown Saturn no longer washes my car when I get service and forgot to torque my oil filter down (or so the wonderful people at Springfield, Mass Saturn told me) so my brand new VUE breaks down on a road trip. Oh yes….it’s bad.
But I’m rooting for Saturn. I know GM has to cut costs to placate the government and Saturn is on the block. Only the dealers can save this brand and I sincerely hope they do. BUT, they have to remember what made us so loyal. It’s not the car, it’s the experience buying and servicing the car. It’s yours to lose dealers.
According to Fred Reichheld, author of the Ultimate Question, loyal customers will do three things:
1. Buy more from you (check – bought five).
2. Market for you (check – included you in my book).
3. Tell you how to improve your business – I’m ready.
Page one of the online survey – language selection. okay. English.
First Question: How satisfied are you that your vehicle was fixed right on this service visit? Completely? Very? Satisfied? Somewhat? Not at all?
WHAT? You forgot to torque down my oil filter and all the oil slowly drained from my car causing my engine to sound like a jack hammer was under the hood as I pulled into a client’s driveway 180 miles from home!!!!!
15 questions later, similar in their delivery.
“How would you rate the lighting in the waiting room?”
Not too bright. Just bright enough. Satisfactorily bright. Not bright enough.
They NEVER gave me an opportunity to tell them what happened and why I can’t give them the highest rating that they are used to.
This is why I love the ultimate question:
On a scale of 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend Saturn to a friend, family member or colleague?
And then the golden question: WHY did you answer the way you did?
Two questions. No bullshit.
If they had only asked me those two questions, they would KNOW why my loyalty is waning and they could respond to me and close the loop – solidifying my continued love which they so desperately need in order to stay alive!!
And here’s what Saturn needs to know. I would probably give them an 8. A passive score. Because I felt that we had a relationship. I have time invested in this relationship and I want to continue, but ONLY if they care enough to listen to me!
Hello???
The 2020 Vision of Marketing 
12 comments
Comments feed for this article
April 7, 2009 at 1:09 pm
Jonathan Gowins
I hope they are a) willing to fight for their brand, their company, and their customers, and b) that they are at least semi-savvy about the the internet and how it works and have dedicated staff who search for things like “Saturn” “Vue” etc, so they can come across your blog and hear what their customers are saying.
I must admit, I have never liked Saturn. No good reason either, never had one. Just always had this stereotype in my mind that they were some off-brand car company. That is, until I started reading your book and blog entries. Now I see Saturn in a whole new light and have been ever-so-tempted to think about one someday. There is a spec of light at the end of the tunnel, and even though I probably won’t buy from them because I am a loyal Toyota customer, the negative association has left my mind thanks to you (a loyal promoter).
Let’s hope they don’t change that. For your sake and theirs.
April 7, 2009 at 1:52 pm
Dwight Johnston
Oh.. Denise…Denise…Denise… So young. So foolish. Trade that car in. Buy a Mercedes or BMW. There will be no illusions with one of these. They won’t love you back, but they will make you feel honored just to have allowed you to own them.
April 8, 2009 at 5:05 am
pam
Better yet… trade in your gas-guzzling 4-wheeled vehicle for a nice shinny 2-wheeled bicycle!!! In addition to saving money on gas, you will get peace of mind knowing that you are getting healthier and healthier by your now frequent exercise!!!
🙂
April 8, 2009 at 6:26 am
Denise Wymore
@Jonathan – I know! That’s why this relationship feels so dysfunctional. They lured me in with all this love and now they won’t return my calls!
@DJ – I owned a Mercedes years ago. It was a 1981 380SL gold convertible. Bought it in 1995 and it had only 40,000 original miles. I named him Otto. (get it – German name…?)
Anyway, I’ll never forget my experience taking it in to Don Rasmussen Mercedes in Portland, Oregon for an oil change. You are so right – I was “allowed” to enter the club, and I was not to react negatively when they charged me $250.00 for said oil change. You vill pay it, and you vill like it!
April 8, 2009 at 7:32 am
Denise Wymore
@Pam – But how will I get all the stuff I don’t need to the house I can’t afford to impress the people in my neighborhood that I don’t like!!!
SIDEBAR: That was a commentary on the greed of the boomer generation – those thoughts do not necessarily apply to me or my mortgage. Or my neighbors. Except that one – and you know who you are…….
April 8, 2009 at 11:57 am
Nicolle
I love your blogs and always find insight. I work for a large grocery chain that spend lots of time, energy and money on creating a climate of service. The store spends additional dollars to have a secret shopper program that rates their shopping experience against a set of specific attributes. I read your Saturn blog. I have to say that it sounds like mistakes are never to be made. Is the anger from the fact that some guy, making minimum wage, forgot to tighten a part? More importantly how was Saturn at rectifying the error or making amends. My daily work load is growing bigger and bigger as my store tries to turn a profit. I have made mistakes, people have to stand in line. The test of our Customer Service is how we can make amends. Customers are more demanding, less patient and they have smaller budgets that ever before. They take no person responsibility to ensure their shopping trip is smooth. It is a difficult balancing act. I was in work on my day off last night to do my own shopping. I had to use the bathroom and when I came out a customer was inches from the door demanding I open a checkstand. She did not want to wait in line to purchase her beer. I understand her frustration, waiting in line is no fun -ever. But if the store is using all their resources, and the lines are moving as quickly as possible…well you get the idea. I could rant on about how my customers don’t remember their PIN and three tries later write a check holding up the line, or how the EBT customer only has $16 on their card an $41 in groceries and is taking off items one by one to lower the bill, or how Monday a customer said I was an idiot because her VISA was not approved and she was sure there was nothing wrong ( turns out she had tried to log in to pay online too many times and the company cut her off) but I believe these are great customers and probably very nice people having a bad day. They take out their frustrations on the safest person possible; the stranger behind the grocery counter. And through it all I LOVE my job. Crazy huh?
April 8, 2009 at 2:50 pm
Denise Wymore
@Nicolle,
I totally agree that customer service INCLUDES the customer’s attitude and reasonable cooperation. Your post beautifully illustrates several points:
1. Do I expect perfection every time? Well, no, not at all. BUT, the minimum wage guy that changes my oil has one job. To change my oil and make sure it stays in my car. The ramifications of him not doing that could be serious.
2. If Saturn does right by me with the oil change fiasco, you better believe I”ll remain loyal. If they shrug it off – not so much.
3. Grocery stores are just like teller lines – if ONE line is closed the people IN line don’t think you’re doing all you can. I know how frustrating that can be having been a teller.
4. People who still write checks at the grocery store should be flogged.
5. I love my job too!
April 8, 2009 at 4:03 pm
Nicolle
Like I said it is a balancing act, your Saturn oil change not withstanding, how much is too much? I am never to expect a line anywhere I shop/bank especailly at the after work rush time. Am I never to expect that a store/bank/business/dr office is plauged by sick calls, a busier that expected day or a lost grocery load? Customers of all types expect more and more, and in the name of customer service, are rewarded. Like everything else in life one over the top customer can ruin everything.
April 13, 2009 at 6:49 am
concerned wino
LEXUS
L Love my Lexus
E Extremely satisfied….
X Xpensive to purchase, inexpensive to own…
U U need to purchase one as you get what you pay for…
S So sorry you do not have one…
I have owned speedy for 4 years and not one item wrong… and by the way last time I went in and experienced an oil change they replaced my bolt for free. They were worried that my oild would leak out and ruin the engine.
Tell Mr. Money bags that he should open up the purse string and purchase a vehicle tha has the highest owner satisfaction!
May 8, 2009 at 7:13 am
Dan Desmond
Hello Denise,
We just discovered your blog (my art director tipped me off) and found it interesting and enlightening. First of all, I am not a Saturn corporate spokesperson. You could accuse me of being a Saturn cheerleader and I could not convincingly deny it, although I would probably look scary in the skirt. I actually work for an outside supplier that produces owner magazines. We make Saturn 360°.
You are not alone in your ambivalence toward Saturn these days. We’ve gotten several messages from owners lately expressing anxiety, confusion, disappointment — essentially, they don’t want their Saturn to leave them. The prospects of a successful spinoff are looking good at this point. I also know only what I read, but I’ve been reading many accounts that indicate Saturn — to borrow from a Monty Python routine — is not answering the “bring out your dead” call.
As a marketing pro, you’ll be interested in knowing this. Based on my brief peek under the Saturn curtain, I can tell you that they know what makes them successful and different — it’s the customer experience. That has been there from the beginning, it’s a reputation they’ve earned and they’re recommitting to it now. When suitors express an interest in Saturn, that’s what they’ll be buying into. That, and their dealership network, of course. But Saturn gets it — people will come back if they’re treated well and trust their sales and service consultants.
Before this becomes a speech, I’ll sign off. Meanwhile, I’ll be exploring, and enjoying, more of your blog.
May 12, 2009 at 3:56 am
Denise Wymore
@Dan
I cannot thank you enough for taking the time to not only read my blog but to post your wonderful comment.
I need to take my VUE in this week – there’s a leak in the car somewhere and when it rains the passenger side floor board is soaked. I know the dealerships have to be wondering if they’ll be around in a month, but I sincerely hope they can remember why devoted fans of Saturn continued to buy from them – we’re loyal because Saturn made us feel like our purchase mattered.
It’s not the car I was buying – I was a member of a club. A family.
I for one am still rooting for the “Different Car Company.”
Cheers!
October 1, 2009 at 2:41 am
RIP Saturn « Cult-ivation
[…] though my last words were harsh and riddled with disappointment, I hope that Saturn knows all the joy it brought me. From […]