The
Applebee’s crisis…. What a mess and what to say about it?? Well for starters,
we’ve all heard the story that went viral. A waitress was left a note on her
receipt by a customer because the customer felt it was unjust that there was an
automatic gratuity put in her check. She stated, “I give God 10% why do you get
18?” and didn’t leave a tip. A fellow waitress took a picture of the receipt
signed by the customer and posted it on to Reddit, which then went viral, and
the waitress was then fired from Applebee’s on account of violating customer
privacy.
So
why is this a big deal?? Well it’s a huge deal from several standpoints and the
point I’m going to take is from a public relations view. First of all Applebee’s
had to release a public statement which they did on their Facebook page to try
and put a band aid on the issue letting people know that the person who posted
the receipt received disciplinary action for it. However, after firing the
waitress Applebee’s received harsh criticism for doing so.
While
Applebee’s was posting on Facebook, however the person controlling their page
was arguing with fellow users in the middle of the night via several comments
and posts on the issue. This made Applebee’s look unprofessional but more than
that, it was horrible crisis management for trying to avoid making a bad
situation worse.
And
additionally although this waitress was fired for abusing Applebee’s customer
privacy policy a similar receipt had been posted on their page of a positive
message from a customer with their signed name. This also violated customer
privacy and yet, the person who posted it wasn’t fired for it, once again
putting Applebee’s under fire for the double standard they had set.
According
to an article written on ragan.com this reporter states 6 steps that should
have been taken to avoid Applebee’s major public relations crisis.
1. Have a communications expert on speed dial.
2. Think before you react. This is emotional. It's hard to be objective, but don't let your emotions take control.
3. If you hold a position on something (e.g. "it's against our policy to post a guest's name") and you're proven wrong ("when it's good feedback, it's OK to post his name"), reassess your position.
4. Empower people to communicate via social networks, but have a strict policy when it comes to a crisis. There is no reason on Earth this Applebee's person should have been posting in the middle of the night, tagging people, and arguing with them. Yes, crisis control said a team had to work the weekend, but not in this manner.
5. Remember, two little words go a long way: "I'm sorry." Use them and mean it when you say it.
6. Did I mention you should have a communications expert on speed dial?
It would have been in Applebee’s best interest to reassess the way they handled the situation, especially from a worker’s standpoint. Yes, it’s important to make the customer happy, but at what cost and at what risk? Applebee’s enraged more people because the situation was not handled how it should have been and they will have to suffer the consequences because of it.
