On the way home from work I noticed a Honda Civic hybrid car passing me in the carpool lane. It had those stickers on it that allowed it to drive in the carpool lane even if only one person is in the car, though today it had two people in it.
Also the car had a huge lemon sticker on the rear windshield and big yellow letters across the rear bumper that read, "Don't buy Hondas..."
I am quick on my feet, and so I figured out that that person had a bad experience with that car. The only trouble was that the Honda lemon was zipping by in the carpool lane, driving just fine. Moreover, it just smacked of getting better gas mileage than my old Mazda 929. The driver's complaint would have been far more effective if the car had been broken down on the side of the road.
As I reflected on this, the final bit of irony is that Hondas are known for their reliability. While this person probably did get a "lemon" that caused her grief and perhaps money, overall it's bad advice to not buy a Honda. (Full disclosure: my parents bought us a Honda minivan several years ago. It runs great! But it's in the shop right now, because a mouse ate a wire that is coated with a plastic manufactured from corn oil.)
Anyway, this made me wonder: Are some of us consumers identified as much by our complaints about bands as about our championing of brands?
If I'm happy with a product, I'll have no problem recommending it to others. However, I will warn them if I have a bad experience with the product. I think it comes down to being truthful. One of my friends continued to rave about his new ride, even though it was a lemon that cost a lot of money. He was just rationalizing his purchase by praising it.
Posted by: Corporate Barbarian | May 20, 2009 at 12:35 PM