Copies of this 25-minute film, imaginatively entitled Love Thy Customer, were presumably sent to Ford dealerships across America around the summer of 1966. It worth watching, if only is a ’60s Californian timepiece. Not only was it (most likely) shot there by “Parthenon Pictures” (whoever they were), but this doubtless distinguished company managed to find an unexpected local band to play the near-constant background music.
The Doors — yes THE Doors — were just one of several dozen semi-professional Los Angeles blues/rock groups. They did not have a recording contract, but since February 1966, they were the house band at a West Hollywood joint. Sometime in early May, the Doors went into a small recording studio in LA and played a live backing set while watching the film on a small screen. The performance was improvised in the typical Doors way, albeit without vocals: Jim Morrison percussion and what sounds like a kazoo. This was therefore the groups’ first studio recording: their legendary first album (released in January 1967) was recorded over six days in late August 1966 — four months after the Ford job.
The film itself is, as these things often are, pretty cringeworthy. The acting, the stereotyping, the cheapness of it all is made worse by that voice-over’s inane blather. And that gratuitous passing dig at Studebaker was, especially by 1966, rather cruel. At least, there’s the background music — and it really does sound like the Doors and some nice Fords.
This is especially funny since there’s a scene in the Val Kilmer biopic in which they’re visibly distressed at a candy coated version of “Light My Fire” being used in a commercial for cars, maybe Pontiac?
“Come on Buick, Light my Fire…”
Regarding the Buick jingle: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/the-doors-john-densmore-talks-about-the-bands-ugly-six-year-feud-76215/
In the movie, it was Ford that wanted to use the slogan and song, if I recall correctly.
In real life, Buick used the slogan “Cars that Light Your Fire” for the 1970 model year.
I almost forgot, there’s a Leyland Princess promo film on YouTube that I was watching a couple of years ago only to have the unmistakable theme from Monday Night Football playing in it. I’ve since found out that the song is called “Heavy Action,” and was composed by a Brit, but I sure laughed at hearing it in a BL promo. I actually thought it could’ve been included there because someone inside BL liked it and figured nobody there would catch the connection to football here.
The daydreaming service manager refers to the first “type” of customer as a “Private Bilko” – apparently a reference to the scheming Sergeant Bilko character played by Phil Silvers on his 1950s sitcom, The Phil Silvers Show.
I had to laugh when he complains about the customer who has the gall to expect a loaner car while his car is in for service – and it has to be a Thunderbird or a Lincoln. Today people expect either a loaner or some sort of shuttle service to get to work after dropping off their vehicle for service. Imagine!
One of the men watching the film is smoking during the presentation. No problem with workplace smoking in 1966!
I believe that today we would call the pause where the employees are supposed to “figure it out on their own” a chance to exercise a little “employee empowerment.”
What is that light car with the door open at the right at :26? Looks sort of like a ’65-’66 full size Ford with a tarp over the grille
As for that cruel dig at Studebaker (“We can either switch jobs to a Studebaker dealership or roll with the overload…”), I’m assuming this film was made just after Studebaker announced they were ending car production in March 1966. Many of those Stude dealerships became Mercedes-Benz dealerships though, which may have ultimately had more profitable service departments than Ford dealerships did. So those Studebaker dealerships got the last laugh!
I love the looks on those kids’ faces as Dad comes home and is uncharacteristically affectionate towards Mom, like they *knew* something wasn’t right. That would have been exactly my reaction if my dad acted that way when he arrived home from work.
The Doors sound great BTW.
la673: It’s a ’66 full-size. No tarp over the grille…just overexposed black and white film obscuring the grille pattern.
The customers weren’t stereotypes. They were real and common types.
The technical problems were less realistic. Turn on the ignition and the horn blows and the wipers turn on? That was a Chrysler-style problem, not a Ford problem.
Yes those are common everyday customers to this day. If you’ve written more than 2 or 3 work orders you’ve come across one of these customers.
This just brought to mind a very distant memory that I had not thought about in years … my father had two Ford pickups (as I recall, the first was a ’64 and the second one was a ’70). I figured out as a kid entirely by accident while playing around inside that, if I turned on the emergency flashers and the windshield wiper switch (and maybe also the radio, can’t exactly recall, but it was some combination of those items) at the same time, with the engine turned off, the wipers would move incrementally in sync with the flashers. Originally, I figured it had to be some kind of weird electrical fluke with only his older truck, but I distinctly recall this same exact thing happening on both of his Ford pickups. Always thought that was kind of strange.
Isn’t it interesting that the men watching the presentation are also drinking Coke? I’d suppose no other brand than FoMoCo would be present here.
“Sure, our customers are all unrealistic assholes, but if you just smile at them they will settle down a little.” For any of us who have had 1) work charged that wasn’t done 2) problems not fixed or damage done to the car while in for service or 3) techs who ignored specific instructions from an owner who knows his car quite well – will find this film a little condescending.
The video explains there has been a great increase in the number of Ford Motor Company vehicles on the road, and more of them are under warranty coverage, thanks to longer warranties.
So, maybe the dealers should…hire more service technicians and expand their facilities to keep up with the increased amount of work?
My ’64 Ford had a 2-year or 24,000-mile warranty. I’m guessing that was the standard warranty for any 1964 model year FORD? My warranty would have expired August 1966 as there’s no way Cheapo Falcon would’ve been driven 24,000 miles in under two years. I still have all the FORD coupons attached inside the last few pages of the Owners Manual. The old lady never used any of the tear-a-way coupons.
As far as THE DOORS go . . . I’m waiting for someone to say, in regards to the video, that they love it madly.
You can’t hire service technicians that don’t exist and expanding facilities is neither quick nor cheap. Making sure there are no comebacks on the other hand improves profitability with little effort or cost. Plus this film is for service writers who often have zero input into captial investment decisions and little input on staffing levels.
If the number of Fords on the road had increased as much as the film claims, I’d suggest that the expansion of facilities was ultimately warranted.
And perhaps Ford should work with dealers to expand facilities to ensure more satisfied customers (and, yes, I know how state franchise laws work – they are tilted in favor of the dealer). As subsequent events proved, buyers of domestic vehicles did have alternatives if they were unhappy with their vehicles or service.
Take that as condescending if you will but the fact is the way to save that customer when you or the tech did screw up is to give that service with a smile, defuse the situation and then work on correcting the problem.
Of course there are mechanics and shops out there that are 1) greedy 2) incompetent, and on the flip side 3) actually do know a little more about cars than the customers and have been burnt way too many times by the customer that self diagnosed and asked for the service he thought would fix the concern when the root cause was something else entirely.
I think the lesson is don’t beat your wife and 6 kids when you get home from work.
Could you tie them all to the back bumper of your reliable FORD truck and take them for a drag instead?
The Doors bio I read years ago never touched on this. On another note, one of the voiceovers was Frank Nelson, the guy who used to play the department store clerk on the old Jack Benny show (Yyyyeeeeessssss???)
Speaking of Frank Nelson . . . his last movie was the 1985 beach opus THE MALIBU BIKINI SHOP. I used to own it on video (KEY VIDEO, to be exact) and I watched it a few times. He died the next year at 75.
Nelson also appeared several times on SANFORD & SON in the ’70s; one time he was a snarky jeweler and Lamont and Rollo were customers unsure of what to buy.
Yayyyyess!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5M_2ZXWs55g
This makes me thank the lord that I no longer have to deal with the public to make a living.
Wow, plenty of COWBELL!
A product of its time, so little reason to get judgmental about it. It’s fun for this Ford guy to see all the Fords in such nice shape.
Just a couple observations:
1) at 14:17 (after the guy who demands a Lincoln/T-Bird loaner), we hear a bit of the “See the USA in your Chevrolet” tune.
2) Oldest car perhaps that ’55-or-’56 red wagon in the service stall, still looking great. Spanish-language lettering on the side includes “Pharmacia,” so perhaps drug store delivery vehicle?
3) I wish I knew more of the details of the early history of manufacturer’s warranties. Vague memory of 1950s three months, 3K miles, or perhaps double that. Ford made a bold step (perhaps matching Cadillac?) with 24/24K for 1961 Lincoln, which apparently became standard across the line or even industry by the time the film was produced.
4) Probably a Dukane Mite-e-Lite filmstrip projector (the kind that played synchronized records, with the bell tone to advance the frame).
5) Sobering to think that everyone we see would be 52 years older today, meaning a good many just aren’t with us anymore.
Great fun, Tatra87—I sure never saw this one before!
I seem to remember that the owner’s manual in my 59 Plymouth showed a 3 month/4000 mile warranty, or something along those lines. Chrysler introduced a 5/50 warranty in 1963 in order to convince people that quality had improved. By the late 60s it seemed that almost everyone had settled on 12/12.
The longer warranty on the 1961 Lincoln Continental was big news. Lincoln was ahead of Cadillac in expanding its warranty coverage. The new warranty highlighted the stringent quality control measures taken to ensure reliability and good workmanship with these new Lincolns – and erase the bad memories of the 1958-60 models.
Chrysler Corporation’s 5 year/50,000 mile warranty, instituted for 1963, was also big news.
Not too easy to snag Big-3 warranty history online. Here’s Chrysler’s announcement, Autumn 1962: I can imagine Ford & GM deliberating whether to fall in line, or not:
That voice – I recognize that voice! The guy who says, “Yeeeeeessssss!”