Postal Notifications Are Not a Perfect System
As Toyota has starting shipping parts to Toyota dealers nationwide as part of the massive Toyota recall program, some Toyota owners are at risk of falling through the cracks. Toyota has advised consumers that it has started to mail recall letters.
An excerpt from Toyota's February 5th press release said:
"The company also announced that it has begun mailing letters to owners of recalled vehicles to let them know when to bring their vehicles into a dealership. Owners will only receive a letter if their vehicle is involved in the recall. Upon receipt of a notification letter, owners will be asked to contact a local Toyota dealership to schedule an appointment to have their vehicle fixed."
The press release did not address the very practical problem that Toyota's database can not contain accurate mailing information for all Toyota owners affected by the recall.
Car sales between private owners as well as mailing address changes as consumers move within the country will impact the effectiveness of a Toyota national recall notification mailing. Since Toyota press release did not say when the mailings will end, consumers are left in the air about their role when a recall letter does not arrive.
According to the US Postal Service website:
- 17% of Americans change addresses annually.
- 43 million people move each year.
- One out of every six families move each year.
The ability for any company to maintain an accurate mailing address of their customers has always been a challenge in the direct mail industry. With over 6 million cars included in the floor mat recall and the sticky accelerator pedal recall, when you apply a conservative mailing address error rate of 8%, it can be estimated that over 500,000 Toyota owners will not receive their recall letters.
Since Toyota is claiming to use mail as the trigger for consumers to call their local dealer, consumers who don't get recall letters in the coming days are advised to call their local Toyota dealer to check and see if their VIN# and mailing address is correct in the Toyota database. Consumers can also request that a local Toyota dealer contact them by visiting a free consumer website at www.toyotarecall.org and requesting a service call.
Toyota Owners Have a Voice Online
Consumers can also visit an independent consumer website covering the Toyota Recall at http://www.toyotarecall.org to share their experiences during the recall process. The website will allow consumers to freely express their recall service experience and the effect the recall has on their confidence in the Toyota brand. Consumers can also request a local Toyota dealer contact them about a recall service appointment or to confirm that their car in included in the recall.
The independent website which is not affiliated with Toyota, is a popular destination for Toyota car owners to express the questions comments and reactions to the Toyota recall process.
The Pasch Consulting Group chose the .org domain extension because the website is designed for public information, education and commentary. The website was recently recognized by the Public Interest Registry (PIR.ORG) as a fine example of the effectiveness and application of a .org domain name. You can read their post at: http://blog.pir.org/?
Consumers who are concerned about the safety of their Toyota models not included in the current recall are advised to call the official Toyota Customer Experience Center at 1-800-331-4331.
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