Chapter Six

Show Your True Colors

Why mistakes and crises are a golden loyalty opportunity

On August 28, 2009, a forty-five-year-old California Highway Patrol officer named Mark Saylor brought his 2006 Lexus to a San Diego-area Toyota dealership for repairs to the CD player, parking brake, and console lighting. The dealership loaned Saylor a 2009 Lexus ES 350 for the day, and he drove off, along with his wife, brother-in-law, and teenage daughter.1

As Saylor drove the loaner Lexus down Route 125 in suburban San Diego, the car’s accelerator suddenly jammed. The vehicle kept going faster, no matter how hard Saylor pumped the brakes, until it reached speeds later calculated between 112 and 150 miles per hour.2 Saylor’s panicked brother-in-law called ...

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