corporate greed

As many of our readers who have a Ford know, Ford Motor Company Customer Service Dept. is less than stellar about dealing with major engine and powertrain issues. We can speak from first hand knowledge that it seems if they ignore you long enough, you will either go away, or you will go away. At corporateabuse, we don’t go away. Instead we continue to e-mail Ford as to why they have treated United States consumers with sub-par service. So what we would like to show you is our e-mails to Ford, and there well scripted replies.

On May 19th 2008, we sent an e-mail to Ford through their Media relations dept. asking a very simple question:

“the 2005 Ford Freestar sold in Canada came with a 5/60k warranty, why did the freestars sold in the U.S.

not have the same warranty?”

They replied, and did so fairly quicly. However, they did not answer the question. Here is their reply:

On Mon, May 19, 2008 at 1:50 PM, <crcfmc@ford.com> wrote:

Hello,
Thank you for contacting the Ford Motor Company Customer Relationship Center regarding the

Ford and Lincoln - Mercury vehicles warranty coverage.
As part of our ongoing commitment to quality products, Ford Motor Company provides the following warranties against defects in factory workmanship or materials:
Ford and Mercury Vehicles:
Manufacturer - 3 years or 36,000 miles (whichever comes first)
*Powertrain - 5 years or 60,000 miles (whichever comes first)
Lincoln Vehicles:
Manufacturer - 4 years or 50,000 miles (whichever comes first)
*Powertrain - 6 years or 70,000 miles (whichever comes first)

Coverage for some components may vary under one of the maintenance warranty programs or the Basic, Powertrain, Emissions, Corrosion, or Safety warranties.  For further details, please see your warrantyguide which may be found in your vehicle or online at www.customersaskford.com.
*Powertrain coverage applies to vehicles purchased on or after July 14th 2006

If you have any other inquiries, please feel free to contact us and we will be happy to addressthem for you.

Improving the fuel economy of your vehicle starts with regular maintenance at your local Dealership.

Following the maintenance schedule is an easy way to optimize your vehicle’s fuel economy.

Click on the attached link to highlight current incentives and offers available at your local Ford

and Lincoln Mercury Dealers.

http://www.genuineservice.com/genuineservice/en/default?page=K

Sincerely,
Marites
Customer Relationship Center

They have now proven either to not pay attention to the question, or just do not care to deal with this, so we must push on. We reponded on May 20th 2008 with this:

Thank you for your well scripted reply. Now can you answer the question we previously asked?”Questions: the 2005 Ford Freestar sold in Canada came with a 5/60k warranty, why did the Freestars sold in the U.S. not have the same warranty?” I know this may seem difficult to answer, so if need be, you can ask one of your supervisors for the answer. I look forward to your response.

They responded with the exact same e-mail as above, it was like they copy and pasted. We expect better relations than this. So we decided to copy and paste our e-mail, except we added that they should contact a supervisor for help in responding to this. It worked, We finally received an answer as to why Canada consumers were getting a better warranty package than U.S. consumers were getting. Here is what Ford had to say:

On Thu, Jun 26, 2008 at 3:11 PM,  wrote:

Hello,

In an effort to assist you, we have researched your inquiry.  According to our resources, some general reasons for the difference in warranty by countries are:

1. Competitive Positioning
2. Consumer Demands
3. Market Forces
4. Differences related to geography

Sincerely,
Julienne
Customer Relationship Center
Ford Motor Company

Ok, the gloves are coming off now. This response is essentially a slap in the face to U.S. consumers. In Particular look at item 4. Differences related to geography. What division of geography are we talking about? We were more than happy to write them a macroeconomic essay on their 4 points, we just feel it’s in a readers best interest not to have to post this. What we will post is our summary to them.

The Irony here is that Canada seems to get preferential treatment. Polls show that Canada’s Ford customers have a higher rate of satisfaction. If Ford products were still being entirely built in the U.S. would Canada still get a better warranty package? Is there a Canadian Government influence as to protect their consumer’s better? Furthermore, this correspondence took over a month for Ford to reply, if I stated I was a Canadian national would you have replied quicker? I look forward to your response, and thank you for your time

Sincerely,
Thom

Finally we get to the last correspondence from Ford.

Dear Thom,

Required information was not readily available to the Customer Relationship Center at the time of your initial request.  Therefore, your concern was escalated to the appropriate department within Ford Motor Company.  To ensure that your inquiry is properly addressed, additional time was required.  We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you.

Thank you for your patience.

Sincerely,
Julienne
Customer Relationship Center
Ford Motor Company

They have still not answered the questions, in fact they have treated us much like they do the consumers that buy their product. When you have a problem or concern with your Ford product, you will get the first line of defense that will not satisfy your needs, when you escalate it to a supervisor they will put you off. I think we have proven that through our e-mails to Ford Motor Company.

So the lesson here is “Buyer Beware.” We will be looking into Ford Focus, and why for 7 years they continue to have fuel delivery issues. And how they could take a sub-compact car and make it the most recalled vehicle in history.