Page 160 - Toyota Under Fire

RESPONSE AND THE ROAD TO RECOVER Y

of America’s most admired companies, the highest of any auto-
maker. Now headlines accusing the company of abandoning its
core principles and putting customers in danger were appearing
daily. Simply responding to customers, dealers, suppliers, and the
media with their urgent questions about Toyota and what was
happening was all-consuming. As Jim Wiseman, group VP for
corporate communications at Toyota Motor of America (TMA),
put it: “When you’re getting three or four hundred [media] in-
quiries a day, you’re just doing your best to keep up with them. I
don’t think any of us were really prepared in the early stages for
how big the onslaught could be.”
Essentially, Toyota had been growing so rapidly in the United
States, moving from a small bit player to the market share leader,
that it had been lulled to sleep, and it did not change organization-
ally as fast as its visibility changed. Bob Carter, group vice presi-
dent and general manager of Toyota Motor Sales USA (TMS),
described what a culture shock it was. “Three years ago, when
Toyota became the number one brand in the world, and then last
year, [when] Toyota became the number one brand in the U.S.,
I think that [everyone] started expecting more from us. And per-
haps as a company we didn’t take ownership of that.”

Phase 1: React

The most important reactions by Toyota were not public relations
statements but actions addressing the concerns of customers. The
combination of wild speculation about vehicle electronics and
the reality of the sticky pedals meant that many customers were
worried that their vehicles could, at any moment, zoom out of
control. Resolving those concerns with actions, not with words,

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