Goodyear to Abandon Commissions
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. announced this week that it is eliminating commissions for its auto technicians effective June 1, similar to an action taken by Sears, Roebuck & Co. two years ago after California regulators accused it of selling consumers unneeded auto parts and repairs.
Commissions paid to auto mechanics have come under scrutiny since the state Department of Consumer Affairs raised questions about Sears’ incentive program in its 1992 investigation of the company’s auto repair centers.
The state said commissions that Sears paid employees for selling specific parts may have led to overselling. Sears later settled the charges.
Goodyear said it is changing compensation at its 900 centers nationwide to win the trust of consumers who in general seem to lack confidence in auto mechanics.
Goodyear spokesman Barry Berlin said the action had been under study and is not related to any specific incident.
However, a spokesman for the Minnesota attorney general’s office said Goodyear agreed last December to change its business practices in that state and to pay the state $40,000 for consumer education to settle an investigation into possible abuse. No charges were filed, said Art Sasse, a spokesman for the attorney general’s office.
Sasse said the changes announced this week by Goodyear fall short of what it is now required to do in Minnesota as a result of the settlement. He said the settlement requires Goodyear to pay for arbitration for consumers who believe they received unneeded repairs. The settlement also requires Goodyear’s auto technicians to tell consumers whether recommended repairs are routine maintenance or necessary to keep the vehicle running safely.
Commenting on Goodyear’s action this week, Sasse said, “It’s a good first step, but we think they could go farther.”
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They have the power: The creator of the popular “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers” children’s television show is going after companies selling unlicensed merchandise.
Saban Entertainment says it is taking the action to protect consumers because unauthorized T-shirts fade and knockoff toys break. (It is also very likely that Saban is interested in protecting the value of the license to reproduce Power Ranger products.)
One action that might discourage counterfeiters would be increased availability of Power Ranger toys. The action figures are in short supply, even though manufacturer Bandai of America says it increased the number of factories producing them since last October to 13 from five. The company expects to bring yet another factory on line “any day now,” a Bandai spokeswoman said.
What does Saban plan to do with all the potentially defective merchandise it confiscates?
It says it plans to donate all items that “do not appear dangerous” to needy children in Eastern Europe, including Romania and Croatia.
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Hold the spinach: In its annual survey of consumer attitudes, the Food Marketing Institute, the supermarket industry trade group, found that 76% of grocery shoppers think the nutritional content of food is very important. Taste was considered very important by 90% of shoppers.
