On August 27, a very angry Hurricane Irene came calling all up and down the east coast, including Virginia – which is where I live. I have plenty of hurricane experience, including a sojourn 500 miles offshore in a schooner during a Category 1 hurricane. I don’t recommend that experience unless you really want to know what your laundry feels like on max-agitate in your washing machine.
Landmasses with human habitation that are visited by hurricanes always have plenty of wind and flooding damage, and our experience with Irene was pretty typical. Lots of trees were knocked down, which took a lot of power lines with ‘em, meaning that lots of local utility customers were in the steamy dark once Irene blew town.
#1 cause of a PR crisis: lots of unhappy people.
No one – at least, no one with a mature level of life experience – could have expected Dominion Virginia Power to restore everyone to lighted bliss immediately. Those of us who were here during Hurricane Isabel (hurricanes with “I” names must hate the Commonwealth of Virginia) knew we were in for a sweaty, dark few days, at least.
Crews from utilities in surrounding states came in to help Dominion crews get us all lit up again. They are still working their butts off, and they are most certainly not the target of this post’s ire.
Because Dominion has truly screwed the PR/crisis-comms pooch on Irene’s aftermath.
All the interactive outage maps in the world – and Dominion has some great ones – mean squat to customers who have to huddle in a local Panera or library to view them. Announcing where crews are working via local media is of some help.
What Dominion failed to do, however, was put a face on the problem. One of their top leadership team needed to become the face and voice of Dominion as they worked to restore their customers to the grid. As I write this – Sunday, Sept. 3 – 20% of Richmond-area customers are still without power.
That means that 1 out of 5 Dominion customers in this region are still in a Bronte novel, at least at night, wandering from room to room clutching candles. The contents of their refrigerators and freezers are long gone, and if they have an all-electric kitchen, they ain’t cooking dinner, either.
No one from Dominion’s senior leadership has been very visible during this event. The company’s Facebook page has been the wall where the unhappy sweaty scrum have been posting their displeasure, which has only compounded the problem, since the person or persons who manage the page seem to be as clueless as the rest of us. One response they posted in reply to a customer’s inquiry about the fact that the middle of a street was still dark, while the houses at each end had been restored:
I am sorry, we aren’t quoting specific restoration times. I don’t have the level of operations information you are looking for.
Why on earth is the person who is representing a utility on a major social network NOT given access to operations information at a meaningful level? This tells me that Dominion views social media as a one-more-thing activity, rather than a key communication tool.
#fail.
For next time, here are my recommendations. Dominion may or may not ever see these, but I already feel better for posting them.
Make a top leader the face and voice of the company during the crisis.
Have that face-and-voice respond to media inquiries at least daily, if not more frequently. What that leader says must be mirrored in/on every online outlet for customer-facing company information … which includes Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, et al.
If you don’t know, say “I don’t know.” Shiny-happy-people, pie-in-the-sky, promise-the-world will only lead to the gnashing of teeth and rending of garments. Possibly yours.
Tell the truth. This goes hand in hand with #3.
Simple. Works for a utility, a consumer-products company, a hospital, a factory. Have a leader lead, tell the truth.
I consider London to be one of my home-towns – I grew up in a government-service family, we moved frequently, and one of the places we called home was London in the ’60s and ’70s.
I watched, with deep sorrow, as large parts of Greater London, and then Birmingham, fell under the torches and bricks of rampaging looters, ostensibly in protest of the death of Mark Duggan in Tottenham during what was either a traffic stop or a drug-squad operation. Whichever version is true, the aftermath was crystal clear: chaos.
Fueled by SMS technology, unrest armed with bricks and gasoline spread like wildfire across the London suburbs: Tottenham, Ealing, Barnet, Camden, and a host of other communities became war zones. Scotland Yard was caught flat-footed, with the recent leadership shake-up driven by the Murdoch mess getting blamed for their slow response.
The viral nature of 21st century communication is a powerful tool – for good, or for ill. Like the viruses it takes its name and nature from, “viral” has no morals. It just knows one thing: SHARE ME.
The danger compounds itself by what’s usually seen, in the heat of the moment, as the only way to prevent chaos, to control the message: shut down free access.
That’s what governments in the Middle East are doing to shut down their citizens’ demands for free democracy, and what the British government was asking companies like Research in Motion (the Blackberry folks) to help them do: shut down the viral vector. SMS technology, social sharing.
It’s a dangerous game, that shutting-down. Because once you’ve started, where and when do you stop? When the High St. stops burning? When the last street is cleaned? After some kind of vetting-council “approves” you for re-connection to Facebook?
The lesson here is the same one I advise businesses to take with their communication strategy: LISTEN FIRST. If governments – be they in Lagos or London – have an active listening program in place, they’ll know that they have a problem before it literally bursts into flame.
That’s true for corporate governance, civic governance, every part of human endeavor. Mark Duggan’s death may have been the match that lit the flame, but the fuel was laying all over the ground long before that match was struck.
When it comes to your community, are you LISTENING? To your fellow citizens, to your customers, to your constituents?
Failure to use your ears will mean you’ll have to learn how to use a fire extinguisher. Which is really challenging when your house is already on fire.
The 24-hour news cycle guarantees that the old truism “Don’t [expletive deleted] up on a slow news day” remains evergreen. Just ask Gilbert Gottfried – or, on second thought, don’t ask him, so we don’t have to hear that nails-on-blackboard voice.
Aflac got an “F” in history by not studying Mr. Gottfried’s history – particularly in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, when he gave a live demo of what “too soon” means – to learn that they were hiring a loose beak as their spokes-duck. They weren’t wrong to fire him, my question is why they hired him in the first place. Surely he isn’t the only barely-employed voice talent that can make the word “Aflac” sound like a duck on steroids.
Now, in addition to having to find a new voice for their duck, Aflac needs to smooth the feathers of Japanese customers – 25% of all households, according to Aflac CEO Daniel Amos – who are left to question why the corporate voice thought making jokes at their expense after the worst natural disaster in recorded history was a good idea.
Another “F” in history goes to supporters of Wisconsin governor Scott Walker, who’s proud of breaking the back of public employee collective bargaining. Oh, except for police and fire unions - they’re heroes, they should still be able to negotiate salary and working conditions issues, right?
The history lesson is this: if you’re on a payroll, and work 40 hours a week, you owe a debt to the labor movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This Friday (March 25, 2011) marks the centennial of what was, until Sept. 11, 2001, the worst workplace disaster in US history: the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, in which 129 women and 17 men either burned to death, died of smoke inhalation, or leaped out of 9th floor windows to their deaths.
In the ensuing century, unions have mismanaged themselves into anachronism. Human systems will always include greed if they include money – just ask Jimmy Hoffa. No, not THAT Jimmy Hoffa – his son, James P. Hoffa, who’s the current Teamsters Union president. However, not allowing workers to band together to ask for better wages, or better working conditions, flies in the face of a central tenet of American life: self-determination.
Scott Walker’s efforts would be less visibly political if he had NOT exempted police and fire unions from his anti-collective-bargaining approach. He may have saved a few budget dollars, but I wonder how many of those dollars will remain after the next round of negotiations on a cop or firefighter contract.
My point? Never assume you’re operating in a vacuum, whether you’re in a corporate marketing meeting or a state legislature. Study the past, if for no other reason than to avoid repeating it. The scrap-heap of historical cautionary tales is already piled pretty high.
Etsy, the site that lets producers and consumers of all sorts of stuff buy and sell directly to their customers, has a terrific little business model. Talented folks from around the world can sell their arts, and crafts, without having to go thru a middleman: retail stores.
That said, not every item on Etsy is worth buying. Same goes for Ebay. And even Saks, for that matter. But I digress.
Etsy is now in a storm of controversy due to greeting cards. Yep, greeting cards. If you haven’t seen any of the cards that have sparked this storm, count yourself lucky. Poor taste is the highest level they achieve, and then they slide downhill from there. Taking cracks at folks with Down Syndrome, or survivors of rape, or people with breast cancer? Not exactly humor than can effectively prevent death threats.
The problem for Etsy? As a Web 2.0 enterprise, they completely missed the boat on responding to people – buyers, sellers, CUSTOMERS – who objected to the content of these cards, and asked to have them removed. The objectors went where we all go when we want to say – right now, in public – what’s on our minds: Facebook and Twitter.
Etsy’s response: “Don’t ruin our shiny happy place. Email us at idiots [at] etsy.com.” And they deleted – and continue to delete – the posts on their Facebook wall that objected to the cards.
The result? A petition on the Social Action 2.0 community Change.Org:
Taking a company’s message online with social media means that you’re encouraging two-way communication. If your customers choose to talk to you via the social media platforms you create for your brand means that you have to respond – meaningfully – on those same platforms. Whether what you’re hearing from them is “Shiny Happy People” or “Burning Down the House.”
Etsy is now becoming a meme for social media clueless-ness. Which is particularly ironic, since they’re essentially a marketplace driven by social connection.
The lesson here is for any company, large or small, who plants their flag using social media has to make it a real campfire, where conversations happen. Not a bonfire, where the flames can grow too hot, too fast, if not tended to – where Etsy finds itself today. They attempted to control the conversation the way the Red Queen did in Alice in Wonderland: “off with her head!” Don’t listen, just cut off discussion.
They’re seeing in real time what the after-effects are of using that approach. Whether they’re learning is still to be determined.
How very ironic that the just-relieved-of-command USS Enterprise skipper‘s last name is Honors, particularly since the end of his career in the US Navy (trust me, kids – he’s through) demonstrates a singular lack of honor, and of common sense.
If you haven’t been paying attention, here are the basic facts:
Capt. Owen Honors, who was executive officer (XO) of the Enterprise 2005-2007, and who took command of the ship last year, put together an “XO Movie Night” video in 2006. It had fun stuff in it like girl-on-girl shower scenes (using sailors under his command), verbal gay-bashing (using sailors under his command), and other light-hearted escapades. Here’s one magnum opus from the series:
The videos weren’t seen off the decks of the Enterprise, at least not by any news organizations, until Jan. 1, 2011 (Happy New Year, US Navy!) when they hit heavier than a tax audit.
I bring all this up not because I have family connections to six Naval Academy classes going back to 1916, including my dad (’44), my grandfather (’16), my brother (’85) and my cousin (a classmate of Capt. Honors ’83), and the fact that I was born in the USNA hospital on Hospital Point. Although that does give me a dog in this fight.
This is a perfect example of the dangers of diving into social media without some kind of social-media-SCUBA-gear. Or what could just be called brains.
If you shoot it, and post it ANYWHERE, even on a “secure” site, someone will watch it. And if they have access, they can download it.
If even ONE of those people is unhappy with you for any reason, they can fire off a video heard (and seen) ’round the world, and wipe out your career with one “play video” click.
If you shoot it on federal government equipment, and it resides on federal computers for any time at all, you’re double-screwed.
Want to spread a powerful message? Social media can be an outstanding tool for making that happen. Want to blow up your life, leaving collateral damage all over the map? Social media can help you there, too.
It’s up to you to decide which side of that line you want to wind up on. Act accordingly.
Well, of course they were at the airport. They’re an airline.
My point is that by not responding quickly to the Steven Slater Beer-Slide incident, they’ve really missed the boat on kicking off a great conversation about and among an entire industry and its customers. The conversation is kicked off, and JetBlue is a major part of the story, but they screwed up a huge opportunity to manage a crisis well.
It took them TWO DAYS to formulate a response on their blog. In hiding behind the “we don’t comment on individuals” curtain, they missed a chance to become the Great & Powerful Oz of the air travel industry, at least in the customer-cabin-crew-connection-and-convo category.
What would I recommend to a company who finds themselves in the position that Jet Blue was in on Monday?
Offer a comment along the lines of “today’s events are offering us an opportunity to start a conversation across our industry about customer service and workplace conditions. If you’d like to share your views with us, [blog/email/Facebook/Twitter] – we welcome the chance to explore how we can improve our relationships with our customers AND our employees.” That doesn’t assess or assume blame, but it says you’re paying attention.
Monitor traffic, engage in conversations with heart but not an excess of passion (IOW, don’t pull a Slater).
Monitor commentary about your brand, and the individual who set off the situation. Respond only to direct queries by pointing them at your crisis-comms traffic cops mentioned in Bullet 1.
Jet Blue wasn’t completely silent. Unfortunately, the cries and whispers of the guy who manages their corporate comms Twitter feed got into a Twit-fight with Andy Borowitz (@BorowitzReport). In a battle of wits with a comedian, Jet Blue’s guy is an unarmed combatant. And he forgot the 1st rule of crisis communications: don’t say anything that will make the crisis worse.
You could wind up Dipstick Du Jour on Gawker.
I hope both Jet Blue and Steven Slater find their way through, and past, this slide down the barbed-wire fence of corporate celebrity. I also hope that other individuals, and the companies who employ them, find better ways to manage workplace stress.
Etsy: When Grassroots Burst Into Flame
Posted by: Mighty Casey | Comments (0)Etsy, the site that lets producers and consumers of all sorts of stuff buy and sell directly to their customers, has a terrific little business model. Talented folks from around the world can sell their arts, and crafts, without having to go thru a middleman: retail stores.
That said, not every item on Etsy is worth buying. Same goes for Ebay. And even Saks, for that matter. But I digress.
Etsy is now in a storm of controversy due to greeting cards. Yep, greeting cards. If you haven’t seen any of the cards that have sparked this storm, count yourself lucky. Poor taste is the highest level they achieve, and then they slide downhill from there. Taking cracks at folks with Down Syndrome, or survivors of rape, or people with breast cancer? Not exactly humor than can effectively prevent death threats.
The problem for Etsy? As a Web 2.0 enterprise, they completely missed the boat on responding to people – buyers, sellers, CUSTOMERS – who objected to the content of these cards, and asked to have them removed. The objectors went where we all go when we want to say – right now, in public – what’s on our minds: Facebook and Twitter.
Etsy’s response: “Don’t ruin our shiny happy place. Email us at idiots [at] etsy.com.” And they deleted – and continue to delete – the posts on their Facebook wall that objected to the cards.
The result? A petition on the Social Action 2.0 community Change.Org:
Taking a company’s message online with social media means that you’re encouraging two-way communication. If your customers choose to talk to you via the social media platforms you create for your brand means that you have to respond – meaningfully – on those same platforms. Whether what you’re hearing from them is “Shiny Happy People” or “Burning Down the House.”
Etsy is now becoming a meme for social media clueless-ness. Which is particularly ironic, since they’re essentially a marketplace driven by social connection.
The lesson here is for any company, large or small, who plants their flag using social media has to make it a real campfire, where conversations happen. Not a bonfire, where the flames can grow too hot, too fast, if not tended to – where Etsy finds itself today. They attempted to control the conversation the way the Red Queen did in Alice in Wonderland: “off with her head!” Don’t listen, just cut off discussion.
They’re seeing in real time what the after-effects are of using that approach. Whether they’re learning is still to be determined.
That’s my story, and I’m stickin’ to it…