More and more I see companies making mistakes that can be avoided…if they would just get professional customer engagement counsel.
GM has issued 2.6 million recall notices to customers stemming from a faulty ignition switch. The recall is linked to at least 13 deaths. The National Highway Transportation Authority (NHTSA) believes it may be much more. A Reuters analysis found the number could be as high as 74 deaths.
However, in issuing the recalls, GM failed to omit victims who had died as a result of the problem. They sent those families recall notices.
Sixteen-year-old Amber Marie Rose’s mother, Terri DiBattista, received a recall notice for a car that was involved in a 2005 Maryland crash that killed her daughter. GM went further, mailing a notice to the family’s new address in South Carolina, where they had moved to try to heal after their daughter’s death.
GM’s statement, sent to each crash victim’s family reads: “We are deeply sorry to those families who received a recall notice.”
The public relations woes of the company continue. The automaker announced that 15 employees are retiring or have been fired as a result of the ignition problem. The recall began with 800,000 Chevy Cobalts and Pontiac G5s, before growing to the current number of 2.6 million.
As many companies experience these types of public relations issues, it’s critical to not forget the importance of expert communications counsel.