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2020
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Xi'an Mercedes-Benz - The Road to Rights Protection on the Hood
On April 9, 2019, a short video of less than 5 minutes suddenly went viral online, attracting nationwide attention. So what exactly caused people to care so much?
At the beginning of the event, the heat exploded on the internet.
On April 9, 2019, a short video of less than 5 minutes suddenly became popular online, attracting nationwide attention. So what exactly caused people to care so much?
In the video, a woman is sitting cross-legged on the hood of a Mercedes, crying about her experience, surrounded by sales and management staff from the 4S store. At first glance, it seems like the female car owner is being unreasonable and causing a scene at the 4S store, but upon closer inspection, the reality is quite different.
In the video, although the woman is sitting on the hood, seemingly behaving inappropriately, her words are clear and her logic is sound as she recounts her experience, leading people to realize the truth of the matter. It turns out that this woman is a highly educated individual with a master's degree, who bought a car as a birthday gift at the Xi'an Lixing 4S store. What should have been a happy occasion turned sour when the female car owner discovered an oil leak from the engine before she even drove the car out of the store, leaving her with no means to defend her rights, which led to her subsequent complaints.
"The car hasn't even left the 4S store, and the engine is leaking oil."
"Brother, I haven't even driven this car out yet, and the engine is leaking oil. You tell me about the three guarantees and offer to replace the engine for free. Do you think that's appropriate?"
"I haven't even driven a kilometer and I'm being told to replace the engine. This is simply an unwarranted disaster! If I really have to replace the engine, I won't even be able to sell it as a second-hand car. Why should I accept that?"
The female car owner sits on the hood crying about her experience.
Moreover, the female car owner even self-deprecates as a "shrew" and feels "ashamed," saying, "I feel I have been humiliated greatly. After decades of education, I now have to defend my rights in such an embarrassing way." But is it really the female car owner who should feel ashamed? At least the netizens don't think so; the real shame lies with the 4S store. According to the "Consumer Rights Protection Law," selling defective vehicles constitutes a breach of contract, and the burden of proof lies with the seller. If they knowingly sell a defective product, they are liable to pay three times the compensation to the consumer. The female car owner requested a new car, but the 4S store exploited loopholes, only offering to replace the engine under the guise of the three guarantees. The car leaked oil before it even left the 4S store, and while we cannot know the specific reasons, it is evident that Xi'an Lixing has poor quality control, and parts may have been delivered to the buyer without proper inspection. The after-sales service was unresponsive, ignoring the female car owner's requests, and even going back on their promise to refund or replace the car, ultimately only agreeing to replace the engine when they saw the female car owner was easy to negotiate with. Furthermore, the car sold by the 4S store might have been a second-hand or stock vehicle, which constitutes fraudulent behavior towards customers. Regardless of the situation, such issues should not occur with an international top-tier automotive brand.
News broke online about the female car owner reaching a settlement with Mercedes.
On the evening of April 16, news emerged that the 4S store had reached a settlement with the female car owner. While it seems the issue has been resolved, in reality, it is merely the female car owner's concession; she cannot stand alone against such a large enterprise. Public opinion has calmed somewhat, but we cannot ignore the issues that have been reflected. As a responsible enterprise, it must ensure that every link is tightly controlled to grow and strengthen the business, rather than behaving like Xi'an Lixing, which "bullies customers" and ignores their needs. First, companies need to strictly control the quality of their products. They must provide timely and high-quality service throughout the pre-sale, sale, and after-sale processes. The more successful a company is, the more it values its commitments, prioritizing customers and eliminating fraudulent practices. When a company genuinely cares for its customers and helps solve their problems instead of merely covering up issues and deceiving them, its reputation will naturally improve, and similar incidents like the "Xi'an Lixing" event will not occur.
Luxury cars, high education, complaints, and various factors combined together to create the highly publicized Xi'an Lixing incident. This event has also sounded the alarm for many enterprises, warning them not to "bully customers" as the internet is so developed and the flow of information is so vast that negative news can easily dominate trending topics if not addressed.
We watch the development of the situation, hoping that Mercedes, as a well-known enterprise, can truly lower its guard, position itself correctly, communicate equally, and take sincere responsibility to resolve several negative incidents and mitigate the public relations crisis—indeed, a correct, timely, and sincere resolution of this crisis could provide Mercedes with a good opportunity to reverse its negative reputation, depending on its vision, breadth, and demeanor. Let us wait and see!
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