From: bakc@giraffe.ru.ac.za (MR KR COMAN)
Newsgroups: rec.autos
Subject: Re: Ford kicked my ass in court
Date: 23 Nov 92 07:04:32 GMT
Article-I.D.: giraffe.bakc.214.722502272
Organization: Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa

>Subject: Re: Ford kicked my ass in court
>In article <2182@shaman.wv.tek.com> andrew@frip.wv.tek.com writes:
>>
>>This note was 13,000 words long -- four pages in 10-point type.  It may
>>be awhile before anybody at Ford reads it.

Tenacity and sticking up for a principle is one thing, but I reckon the best
course of action would have been to accept philosophically that "lemons do
happen".  When this car started to play up in the way that it did, the 
solution would have been to *trade it FAST* and not make such a huge 
bloody emotional commitment to a pile of tin, glass and plastic.  Get 
something else and move along with the rest of your life.  Don't try an fix 
a problem by chasing history.

I worked at Ford for 7 years.  Long sarcastic letters are simply a waste of
your time, especially once the issue has got to litigation.  The service 
dept will automatically route your letter to the corporate lawyers (no 
service manager will jeapardise the company's case by taking a personal 
initiative.  SOP, on pain of dismissal, is to shoot all such mail straight 
to Legal Affairs).  It will then go into the case file to await legal 
developments, NO positive action will be taken by Ford.  The matter is sub 
judice and the law will take its ponderous course.  Hence, as far as trying 
to "make an impact" on Ford decisionmakers to take quality and their 
customers seriously; forget it, once the problem has been handed over to the 
lawyers it drops off the company's radar screen.  The guys at Ford who *can* 
do something about building lemons will *never* even get to hear about your 
problem.  The net effects will simply be: (1) you will still be driving a 
lemon for months and months and months; (2) Ford's lawyers are kept 
employed; and (3) their legal fees are simply built into the cost of the 
next Ford product someone buys. 

If the intention was to get Ford to make some sort of voluntary restitution (
out of court) then this hope is doomed unless and until due legal process 
makes this a favourable option for Ford to take up.  In essence, the issue 
is now a legal one, so all spontaneous "human" generosity is eliminated.  

BTW, national and regional service departments get tons of complaint mail.  
They are quick to spot what are called "whingers" -- letters that are often
abusive/sarcastic, and deal with numerous faults that are not deemed to be 
chronic (loose trim, rattles) as opposed to (e.g.) a blown engine.   Whingers
are usually edged off the desk into "File 13" on the basis that even if the
company does double-somersaults to try and be helpful, the true whinger will
be back next week with something else to whine about: sortta like a 
compulsive gameshow contestant.  I'm not saying that your case falls into 
this category, but ultimately the whole matter boils down into human 
perceptions.  Once branded as a whinger...

Still; don't worry, be happy -- you got months and months of "LA Law" -type
drama ahead.  (Ever thought of getting a hobby?..... (:-))

Cheers,
Keith

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"Condemning a research report on the basis of :  Dept of Management
 invalid and unreliable methodology is the    :  Rhodes University
 cheapest shot in the book."                  :  Grahamstown, 6140
                                              :  Rep of South Africa
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