The Japanese car company, once known for it’s domination in the field of quality and customer service, is now suffering a very public downfall. Of course, not all of it could have been avoided–but certainly some of it could. The Guardian, that venerable newspaper from Britain, has some opinion writing on the subject from a professional.

Central to Toyota’s problem is its perceived delay in identifying and addressing the situation in the first place. Whatever Toyota says now, and however well it acts, there is a sense that it ignored the problem until it was forced to take action. Corporate denial appears to have been the order of the day, with the company following the advice of the Japanese proverb: “If it stinks, put a lid on it.”

The solution was certainly not to “put a lid on it”–perhaps proverbs don’t impart quite as much wisdom as is generally thought. A more competent search engine reputation management campaign should have been launched immediately.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/feb/09/pr-view-toyota-reputation-management