Well Gang,
It never ceases to amaze me what Pirates can do :-). You might remember I wrote the Chairman of the Board of General Motors, Rick Wagoner, and offered a bit of insight from the common man perspective (see the letter in blog “Archives”). I have to tell you I was somewhat shocked when our website hit counter soared to over 22,000 in just 4 days, an all-time record by some 10,000! I received so many emails offering support and hope, and some with some terrific suggestions. I forwarded some of them to the appropriate parties. But there was a catch. If we heard nothing back, it would just be another reason for criticism of GM.
Well, though he has been making major public announcements regarding the latest plans for GM, hosting presidential candidates at GM headquarters etc., Mr. Wagoner found the time on late Sunday afternoon to respond to my letter.
________________________________________From: @gm.com [mailto:@gm.com]
Sent: Sunday, July 20, 2008 5:41 PM
To: jim@automastersofbg.com
Subject: Re: Dear Rick
Hi, Jim. Thanks for taking the time to write and offer your support. While my schedule is really packed these days, so no open slots for a meeting, I would be glad to review any ideas that you wish to email, and get them to the right person at GM to consider. Appreciate your interest, and wish you all the best.
Rick
I can’t help remember the words of my dear departed friend Doug Johnson.. “You never judge a man by the remarks of his critics alone, but by his peers as well.” By his response, you can tell this guy’s no dummy. He’s listening and a smart guy always listens. In addition, he opens the door for comments and suggestions, something every good manager is taught to do.
So this is where you all come in. I have always said I’m open to criticism as long as it is followed by suggestions to correct it. As you can see, I made some direct and indirect criticisms in my letter, so now it’s time for fixing rather than just complaining. But complaints are valid also as they offer an insight and you may not have a solution. So here’s what I am proposing.
This is your chance to bring your experiences (good and bad) as well as your suggestions for what you would like to see in the future of GM. Let’s break it down into 3 questions.
1) What was your worst experience with GM and/or its products.
2) What has been your best experience with GM and/or its products.
3) If you could give just one important suggestion to Rick Wagoner to better General Motors as a whole, or specifically, what would you suggest?
Now please remember this is not a joke. By offering us to return his email with specifics, he is inviting us to at least one more response, who knows, maybe more. Your appropriate comments and suggestions will be read by the Chairman of the largest automaker in the world, and then delegated to the appropriate departments within GM for study. As proven in his return email, he is listening. Might I suggest cordial, knowledgeable and professional responses will work best.
I will compile the issues with merit in a return email for Mr. Wagoner, along with my plan on how to improve the GM dealer service programs, thereby bringing customers back to GM from other brands, and finally, how can we bring jobs back to the USA.
Looking forward to hearing from you. Remember, you can just hit the “Ask Jim a Question” to return email or my personal email at vandornjim@aol.com.
Jim Van Dorn, “Chevy Proud”
270-842-0454
http://www.AutoMastersofBG.com