Denny’s Overcomes Racist Reputationīy the ‘90s, Denny’s had built up a reputation for racism that culminated in 1994 with the $54 million settlement of a class action lawsuit brought by black customers claiming discrimination. A few, plagued by other issues, folded, because they didn’t respond quickly enough and with the right information. Some of these brands in crisis were able to recover. You also need vigilant and loyal employees and impeccable operating procedures. You simply must have a crisis management plan. If this isn’t the best time to do it, then when is? Plans are a Mandatory for Effective Restaurant Crisis Communications Think it not as a marketing message or a chore, but as something that is in service of others to give them some sense of normalcy. Part of the spirit of our industry is to express compassion, trust, empathy, care, respect, and service to others. One of the lessons that we’ll be reminded of through this pandemic is that this is the hospitality industry, the restaurant business. Things are busy but if people are important, restaurants need to find a way to communicate to them that they are important. And there are scheduling tools that would push multiple vehicles at a time. In some cases, just picking up the phone as you would do with a friend can go a long way with employees, customers, and vendors. So people don’t know if they are closed or just not answering the phone. Some restaurant chains haven’t even updated their websites. Communication through blogs and social channels can be daily.So customers want to know what’s happening and what specific steps will be taken to take care of them and employees during re-openings. When you think of a restaurant as part of the routine, the ecosystem of people that work and dine there has been disrupted. Customers don’t want marketing messages, but the pandemic affects the routine of so many people.Operators should be concerned about their staff and communicating with them: the ones who are there and the ones who are gone. Understand that there are 360-degrees of caring.Realizing that the pandemic a moment of physical isolation, not social - meaning we should still continue to be in touch (and probably more so even now). Restaurants should recognize how important communications are.Here are some tips on how to communicate in the face of a global pandemic: This crisis is not isolated to the operators, or the guest, or the employees but also the suppliers and the investors - all the stakeholders are affected. And in the midst of the worst second quarter in the history of the country, record unemployment and bankruptcies, restaurants should adapt their crisis communications program. Multiple factors will coincide to have an irreversible change in the foodservice industry. Restaurant Crisis Communications in Times of a Global PandemicĬOVID-19 is naturally going to be the most critical event shaping the economy and the restaurant industry in the next few years. Franchisee Eric Holm scrambled to undo the damage, but it’s tough to silence a ringing bell. Within 24 hours, the video accumulated 25,000 views and is now at 3.9 million views and counting. An employee filmed a video of the Port Orange, FL location storing raw meat - ribs, chicken, bacon, and hamburger patties - in the same enclosure as the dumpster, purportedly while preparing for an inspection. It only takes one person and a six-second Vine clip to bring a multi-billion dollar company to its knees as Golden Corral learned in the summer of 2013. We don’t mean to make you nervous, but this is critical. Remember Wendy’s “finger in the chili” situation? What about Jack in the Box’s E.Coli outbreak? And who could forget Domino’s wayward employees caught on tape? It’s all here, along with other examples of things that will probably keep you awake tonight. Here, we look at some of the top restaurant crisis communications challenges in history.Ī few of these case studies will jog your memory. Food plus scandal equals a major crisis, otherwise known as a publicity nightmare.
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