A virus, a dealership and a flurry of questions

While waiting in the service area at Toyota of Kirkland last week, Tara King Whiteside had a cup of coffee and some cookies baked on-site. Then she visited a chiropractor’s office, a physical therapist’s office and a massage clinic in her suburban ?Seattle community.

Whiteside, 43, is now self-quarantined in a studio apartment, fearful she may have been exposed to the novel coronavirus. Her service appointment came a day before a Toyota of Kirkland employee learned of his infection with the virus and three days before the store temporarily closed for a deep cleaning. 

Experiences such as Whiteside’s illustrate how uncertainty and worry — in some instances bordering on panic — around coronavirus are putting dealerships and other retailers in a difficult position. They are told to follow government guidelines for healthy practices, but recommendations are sometimes vague or don’t do enough to calm patients, employees or customers. 

That’s particularly true in the Seattle area, which has reported the most coronavirus cases and deaths in the U.S. thus far. Toyota of Kirkland opted for the temporary shutdown Thursday, March 5, after social media backlash from some customers and even a supposed employee who took to Reddit to voice concerns that the store remained open after the diagnosis of a co-worker March 3.

After learning about her possible exposure through those posts, Whiteside wants to know whether she had contact with the infected employee. Lacking a specific answer after multiple queries to the dealership, and with her asthma flaring up, she quarantined herself in a short-term rental last week rather than risk spreading the virus to family members, including a daughter with a compromised immune system.

“I don’t understand why the dealership can’t do that,” Whiteside told Automotive News. “I get it: It’s like a liability thing, but I’m also just trying to help protect our community.”

Guidance slim

After Toyota of Kirkland notified the public of the diagnosis via Facebook last week, Toyota Motor North America said it was developing a dealer information kit to guide its retailers. It includes resources on taking care of customers and employees, plus Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, a Toyota spokesman said.

Several other automakers said they haven’t given guidance to dealers on what to do should coronavirus strike their area or stores. 

But National Automobile Dealers Association CEO Peter Welch said it’s a question NADA has gotten from several members. 

On Friday, March 6, it launched a coronavirus resource Web page called Staying Informed and Prepared During COVID-19 with links to government and state agencies including the CDC’s Interim Guidance for Businesses and Employers.

Toyota of Kirkland, owned by O’Brien Auto Group, planned to reopen Monday, March 9, according to a dealership statement provided to Automotive News by Toyota Motor North America.

A spokesman for the automaker said the infected employee, who works in sales, originally was diagnosed with pneumonia in mid-February and took time off before returning to work in late February. 

The employee learned the afternoon of March 3 from his doctor that he tested positive for the virus. He then told his supervisor.

The dealer learned about the case that evening, and O’Brien officials called the CDC early March 4 and were instructed to clean the store and notify employees and customers who had contact with the individual, the Toyota spokesman said. 

“CDC did not tell them to close the dealership,” he said. “That was the dealer’s decision. We think it was a good one.”

Toyota said employee and customer  concerns factored into the decision and that the dealership informed employees as soon as it could and has been calling customers who visited the store between Feb. 18 and March 3.

Toyota of Kirkland, via a Facebook message, directed Automotive News to social media posts for updates. An O’Brien representative declined to comment.

Public relations

Bruce Hennes, CEO of Hennes Communications in Cleveland, said health agencies are the arbiters on whether a business should close amid a medical situation. But generally the key to dealing with such a situation is to be open and honest.

“We always tell our clients: Tell the truth,” Hennes said. “Tell it all, tell it first and tell it fast. That’s really the mantra of crisis communications.”

The dealership, in its Facebook statement, asks employees with “flu-like” symptoms to seek medical care and self-quarantine for at least 14 days.

Thirteen people have died in Washington state from the virus, with 12 of the deaths in King County, where Kirkland is located.

“We are in direct contact with the CDC and are closely following their guidelines and directions to ensure the health and safety of anybody visiting our dealership,” Toyota of Kirkland said in its statement. “Our goal is to prevent the spread of the virus while protecting you, our employees and our community.”

Larry P. Vellequette contributed to this report.