Long road ahead for VW to win back trust

VOLKSWAGEN has a long road ahead to re-establish consumer trust of its brand after the US emissions test scandal, say South African reputation risk management experts.

Tamra Capstick-Dale, owner and managing director of Corporate Image, said the crisis was “very different” from many other corporate crises because the key differentiator was the intention to deceive.

“This was not a mistake made by the company, nor is it a question of lack of responsibility or compassion and empathy as was the case with BP. This is a question that goes to the heart of reputation – the loss of trust,” Capstick-Dale said.

“Once lost, trust is very hard to win back – from customers, regulators, suppliers, dealers, employees, shareholders and just about every stakeholder in their commercial universe. Deception is particularly problematic because it always raises the question of what else the company could have been lying about,” she said.

She said the issue struck at the heart of the company’s values and caused global reputational damage.

“Central to the VW brand are trust, innovation and family values. They make people’s cars, and that is what they’re best known for. Damage to the brand is severe,” she said.

“The damage will continue for some time as the crisis rolls out and investigations are launched, executed and finalised.”

However, she said VW’s leadership had done the right thing admitting to the deception. “They have a great deal of hard work ahead of them, but the VW brand is an extremely strong one.

“The steps they will take to reassure customers that this kind of behaviour will never happen again, the measures they will put in place to ensure it doesn’t, together with their choice of external investigator into the crisis, will determine the time that will take,” she said.

Chris Skinner, Public Relations Institute of Southern Africa fellow and senior management consultant with the East and Southern African Management Institute, said it was “incredible” that those responsible did not fear the consequences of their actions. “Where were the controls within the company as well as the external checks and balances?

“A full independent investigation will be called for to reveal who was responsible and how they were able to conduct themselves in the way they did,” Skinner said.