incoherence.net

Seems like Mr. Carnegie was onto something.

Maybe two or so weeks ago, I discovered that my mom’s new Accord didn’t come with updated maps, which are stored on a DVD in the back of the car. The dealer didn’t want anything to do with it, so our only recourse was to call up Honda and ask for a new one.

Like I wrote, I had already written one letter asking about the situation, but that didn’t prompt any response. I had been reading Dale Carnegie’s book on peer influence and interpersonal relationships, so despite the 70 years that have passed since he gave his advice, I figured I’d give it a shot and use his techniques in a second letter to Honda.

And lo, three days later I got a call from a Honda customer support manager. She was nice, gave me a bit more information on how Honda DVD’s worked, and volunteered to replace my mom’s DVD if in fact they gave her one older than what she was supposed to have.

The embarassing part is that my parents were actually confused and gave me the wrong information. A 2006 Accord is manufactured in 2005, so it makes sense for them to put in a 2005 DVD; exactly what was inside the car. The cover, though ⁽¹⁾, said to my dad that Honda the DVD was made in 2004 (the maps and the version number proved that), for a 2006 vehicle, and corporate America found another way to screw the little guy.

Of course, the happy ending came when I still asked for a new DVD knowing I was at fault and the rep. was still happy to send one out; the key to convincing her, if I remember correctly, was admitting immediately that I was wrong (incidentally, one of Carnegie’s chronicled techniques). Looking at it now, what I was able to do from a few choice words was pretty cool, especially considering that I was completely wrong to begin with.

The other way I would have proceeded might have been via my parents’ advice:

• hunt down a specific customer manager (impossible, as it turns out, as Honda does not allow customers to directly contact support managers and no such information is listed anywhere)
• leave out my last name in the letter (because Asians were a cheap and shady bunch)
• yell and scream and raise hell (unpleasant for both sides)
• contact the Better Business Bureau and get an official letter (which would have utterly failed since we were wrong)
• and in the worst scenario claim that the 2006 Accord had a navigation DVD from my 2004 Accord and swap the discs ⁽²⁾

Good thing I read that book first.

1. 2005 Honda Automobile navigation system; using 2004 navigational maps (↩)
2. which also would have failed, as my DVD was version v3.xx and different versions are completely incompatible, and ironically demonstrate exactly why Asians are thought to be cheap and shady (↩)