Click on the photo and you can view the "apology" from
Bob Eckert, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of Mattel, Inc. regarding problems with lead paint and small magnets endangering our kids.
Is he believable? I’m not so sure. While watching Bob, I thought back to the infamous Chrysler odometer-tampering scandal back in 1987. When they were caught turning back odometers, Iacocca came right out and said, "Did we screw up? You bet."
Big corporations have a tough enough time today making the public believe they care. Trust is very difficult to build with a customer base, but it’s real easy to lose.
Does this video with Bob wearing his gray suit, reading from a teleprompter, and well-rehearsed (watch his hands), make you trust him? Does Bob give you the impression he cares about your kids? Did Bob make you believe that he and everybody else in upper management had no idea these things were happening?
Does "I can’t change what happened in the past…" and "I’m as upset and disappointed as anyone…" sound like "Did we screw up? You bet." ?
I agree. It did not come across, to me, that he was sincere about his apology. But what has happened to me is now I’m afraid to buy toys with magnets for my child. It’s scared me from buy not only Mattel’s products but others as well. I’m a parent, obviously, and my child’s safety is #1 to me. I went trough all of my child’s toys to see if she had any of these type of toys. Then I went to all of the toy maker websites to see if they had any recalls that we had, which I did find one toy that was recalled. It has defiantly been on my mind more than it was previously and has/will make me wonder the next time I buy my child a new toy.
I think this is the difference between a canned, practiced speech and a CEO being transparent enough to just speak from the cuff.
The prepared speech suggests “we want to be careful” as opposed to someone who is speaking from the heart.
Drew
It seems Mattel has moved the video. The link just brings up the customer relations page now.
Regards from Redmond, WA – Sean