Rumored that the dumb ass ice cream girls got let go. Any truth to that? Hope so, but their manager needs to go too. And probably even one level above that. And even then, Chinese everywhere should boycott BMW, ostracize BMW owners/buyers, and vandalize their cars with implicit approval by law enforcement. I.E. lack of enforcement.
New Energy Vehicles (NEVs) in China
- Thread starter supercat
- Start date
That kind of overreaction is exactly the sort of thing that can backfire if causation is misattributed.
I strongly doubt that BMW leadership instructed their managers to tell their expo people to specifically hand out ice cream only to westerners and refuse them to Chinese patrons. That kind of pettiness by company leadership when they are so strongly pivoting to the Chinese market is just idiotic.
In this case I strongly suspect it was either the staff at the front line acting of their own accord, or perhaps their middle managers giving that instruction at most.
If there is evidence that there were high up managers or executives who directed this, then that would be a different story.
I expect this PR ruckus will have a negative impact on BMWs sales, and they will learn to be more vigilant, but what you're describing is a bit much and excessively hostile.
that ice cream episode came out really terribly in Chinese social media. It reinforced the view that Western automakers doesn't take the Chinese market seriously enough and just relied on their reputation to pick up orders. I see online that the customer service offered by NIO, Denza & Li Auto are all better than BMW. Li Auto cars are just better than BMW. There are videos online at just how great L9 is in terms of driving experience.
Sure, execs have finally shown up at Shanghai auto show after 3 years.. But guess what, the market has changed. You had plenty of BBA people working in China during these 3 years. Were they not able to report to their bosses of the impending competition? If you look at the luxury sales right now, Li Auto is really eating into BMW and Audi. If you look at all the steps that Denza take to serve customers. Everything the sales chief talks about is how to offer a better customer experience. Where is BMW with that? Your car is not so special anymore.
Sure, execs have finally shown up at Shanghai auto show after 3 years.. But guess what, the market has changed. You had plenty of BBA people working in China during these 3 years. Were they not able to report to their bosses of the impending competition? If you look at the luxury sales right now, Li Auto is really eating into BMW and Audi. If you look at all the steps that Denza take to serve customers. Everything the sales chief talks about is how to offer a better customer experience. Where is BMW with that? Your car is not so special anymore.
Reminds me of the failure of Samsung phones in the Chinese market. They had left the impression of disrespect for Chinese consumers , while Chinese mobile phone brands were on the rise.
If I can interpret the story - probably some low-level manager for scared at the tempo they were going out of ice cream and said to prioritize the media. Stuff on place interpreted that prob western faces are more likely to be are journalists, and better give them w/o asking.
Simple as that.
Not that much of an excuse, but no one in their right mind does such b2c insults on purpose. At least per my own exhibiting experience, doesn't sound too unlikely.
BMw China’s crisis management team needs to be fired. Shit happens, that’s normal, but how BMW China handles the aftermath is pathetic.
That day, the venue was full of media people. This time, BMW might go the way of Samsung.