Proton does not have to look far to see why its sales and revenue are falling.

The various problems the brand is notorious for aside, after-sales services also matters “big time” to vehicle owners – the importance of which the national car maker had just only realised after more than thirty years in existence.

It was recently revealed that Proton was recalling close to 100,000 of its vehicles from the Preve, Exora and Suprima models, due to a cooler hose issue, which could likely rupture once the car exceeded the 40,000 km mileage mark.

Before you go “what’s the big deal, even foreign car makers have recalled their models,” remember that Proton did not become aware of this fault overnight.

It admittedly knew about the issue way earlier but decided to keep mum about it.

The Malay Mail Online quoted Proton CEO Abdul Harith Abdullah admitting that the practice previously was to refrain from publicising defects discovered in their vehicles, and only quietly replace faulty items when owners brought their cars in for maintenance checks.

“We don’t like to tell or shout about our weaknesses. Most of the time we waited for customers to send their car in for service, we will log in and when it pops up in our computer, (we go) ‘okay, this car we have to change this item because of the service fix programme.

“If the customer doesn’t come, then the tendency is the problem happens,” he was quoted as saying.

Abdul Harith however has pledged that Proton would from now on, actively recall faulty parts to ensure they were repaired or replaced before they failed, in the name of “greater transparency.”

Good for Proton for having awoken from its long slumber of denial, but it still does not mitigate the fact that they chose to put saving face above user safety all this while.

What if this rupturing hose issue was a more serious one – say, a leaky engine problem or a faulty airbag system which could have put lives at stake?

Would Proton have kept mum even then, for the sake of saving face?

What about brands like Mercedes Benz, BMW, Toyota and Honda – all of which have at one point or another, issued mass recalls of their vehicles to rectify niggling issues?

Did any of these globally recognised brands consider “damage to their reputations” when issuing the recalls?

No, they saw problems in their products and recognised that it could cause injury or worse yet, loss of lives if left unattended, so they pledged to right their wrongs.

What took Proton so long to realise this “Rule 101” of after-sales service?

There’s no use in Proton blaming users for not buying their models. Neither is there any use in blaming external factors like the sluggish economy or the country’s nosediving currency, for their faltering sales.

Increasing the prices of their car models at a time when sales are doing badly is also not going to do the brand any favours.

No one in their right mind wants to invest in a a Proton for thousands of ringgit, when they can get quality stuff for almost the same price, or just a tad pricier.

Not to mention, no one wants to be “left alone” with their purchase the moment they drive out of the showroom.

Proton should strive to better the quality of its make and pay more attention to serving its customers better. Maybe then, people would be more partial to buying the national car.