What went wrong?

This means they have to learn how to present their products to satisfy the consumer as well as learn how to distribute and position the product in the market so that consumers become interested in making a purchase. 

If there is any defect with the product, whether from the manufacturing process or wrong usage by the consumer, the retailer, who should understand the culture and tradition of the consumer in that area, must use the right procedure in handling the matter. If not, an accident, for example, could easily result in headlines that won’t bode well for the product. 

Last week a headline spoke about a car that plunged off a building parking lot. The female driver was killed. It was a new car, and police found that the gear position after the crash was in the “P” or “park” position while the parking brake was also engaged. 

Most newspapers highlighted this, and commented that the tragedy could have been caused by technical failure of the transmission system. Television news programmes also said the same thing, highlighting technical defects in the vehicle. 

However, since every newspaper has auto journalists, the daily news reporter should have first consulted the auto reporter, and he would have found that it is impossible for the transmission to cause such as accident. There is no technical evidence that would support this theory. 

I was invited to comment on this accident in at least three television programmes, and I told all of them that it is not possible for the gearshift level to move from “D” to “P” without anyone moving it. For that to happen it would have to also pass the “N” and “R” positions, making it even more impossible. 

But there could be an engine malfunction – for example, if the driver drives normally and the engine suddenly revs and the accelerator gets stuck (for whatever reason). In this case the car would accelerate swiftly and could crash into the parking barrier before plunging down. While the car surged ahead, the female driver may have tried to engage the parking brake in an effort to stop the car. And just when it was airborne, the driver could have also tried to change gears, and that’s why the gear position was found to be in “P”. Or the gear lever could have been hit by certain objects when it hit the ground from the fifth floor face-down. These theories are possible, and could be proven through technical reasons. 

Meanwhile, the accident could also be due to driver error. According to reports, the driver had just finished work and walked to her car in the parking lot. What we often see every day is that women don’t like to change their shoes for driving. Many still wear high heels, which could easily lead to accidents. 

Some do change into slippers, which is also risky. In the meantime, some remove their high-heel shoes and leave them on the floor on the driver’s side. So when the woman braked or turned the car, her shoes could have moved and jammed the brake pedal. 

But whether this tragic accident was caused by a car defect or driver error, the brand owner should have quickly explained the facts. It should at least talk about the low possibility that the accident could have been caused by the transmission, and explain how the transmission works as evidence. But the brand owner didn’t come out fast enough to explain the case, and allowed the incident to turn into headlines again and again. This is definitely not good for its brand image. 

Don’t forget that in Thailand “bad news travel faster than good news” and “rumours cause more damage than the truth”.