To make matters worse, at every press conference he seems to be on the defense from the get-go, a bad situation to be in when you may shoulder responsibility for loss of life. The Chicago Tribune has a round-up of how he has handled his role as company spokesman during this crisis, but if anything is clear it’s that he is woefully unqualified to serve in the position. I can’t help but think how much better this situation would have been handled had an experienced PR firm been hired to write statements and liaise with media.

In the last few months, front-page news stories have told us of the pet food scare that was inexplicably killing household pets around the country. Of toothpaste that contained chemical solvents used in antifreeze. Of produce contaminated with dangerous pesticides. Of seafood contaminated with antibiotics and anti-fungals. Today, news broke that 1.5 million children’s toys must be recalled because they are covered in lead paint. The source of these dangerous products? China.

I understand that China is a developing country, in spite of its vast resources and workforce. Nonetheless, if we look at countries like Japan and South Korea, which were absolutely decimated by war in the mid-twentieth century, we see that their quality of exported goods increased over time rather than decreased. Today brands like Toyota, Sony and Samsung are among the tops in their respective industries.

In order to stop the bleeding and prevent further harm to its national brand, China will need to take swift action to let the world know the steps it is taking to ensure the safety of its customers. And no, executing public officials for corruption is not a good start. There is no doubt that China, the “Sleeping Dragon,” is nearly fully awake – In the light of multiple, grievous quality oversights, however, sheepish consumers will keep hitting the snooze button.

Menu Foods received its first consumer complaint about the food on Feb. 20. Sometime between Feb. 23 and Feb. 27, the company started a taste test, which killed nine of 25 cats. Subsequently, the company learned of three other cats and one dog that had died after eating its food.

It wasn’t until March 16 that the company alerted the public. A week later, the company’s CEO, through a news conference, communicated with the public.

A month is far too long to wait after your own tests confirm your product is killing pets. Second, a crisis of this scale demands a team of skilled professionals working to get information out and answer media calls until the situation is rectified. In contrast, Menu Foods only had one full-time PR person who was authorized to field calls from the media. It would have been far better to hire a qualified agency as soon as they realized the scope of the problem.

Why do I suspect Menu Foods had an ill-conceived, untested plan if they had one at all?

Fortunately, JetBlue’s CEO David Neeleman seems like a very reasonable guy.

First, he took responsibility. As Shel Holtz observed, there isn’t an ounce of corporate double-speak in what Neeleman has to say. It’s rather refreshing.

David Neeleman, CEO JetBlue: “Look, we’re humiliated, we’re sorry. This isn’t like us.”

Second, Jet Blue is making amends. I was pleasantly surprised to see a YouTube video linked from JetBlue’s site featuring Neeleman acknowledging the airline’s mistakes and outlining their plan to make sure it doesn’t happen again. A JetBlue “customer Bill of Rights” will reward passengers who suffer in the future. He seems contrite, and the whole thing doesn’t come off as a sleazy “cover-your-behind” PR stunt. It seems legit.

People are naturally forgiving, even to large companies. A sincere apology goes a very long way, but not without concrete action to back it up. JetBlue is doing things the right way, and once they prove themselves, this situation will have served as a painful yet valuable growing experience.

Yesterday, Apple released the results of its investigation.
Their team did find some less-than-satisfactory working conditions, but overall,
the working environment was found to be well-kept and worker compensation was
found to be fair. (The report does describe the pay structure as “unnecessarily
complex,” however.)

Kudos to Apple for handling this so well. They did the right
thing by: 

- Promising to investigate negative claims
- Quickly following up on that promise
- Acknowledging problems publicly
- Implementing steps to fix problems immediately
- Remaining honest and transparent throughout the process

This kind of responsible corporate behavior builds trust
with consumers, and better yet, allows them to feel good about buying Apple
products. May they continue to rock their iPods guilt-free.

A lot of people got understandably upset about this. After word spread, Sony issued a temporary recall for the affected CDs and released a software patch, which was also found to have problems. Microsoft has also issued its own patch for Windows XP machines.

This is another example of a company treating its customers like criminals, and in the process, encouraging "criminal" behavior. As a customer who purchases a lot of music, I must ask myself: Why should I ever buy a Sony BMG CD again? I play most of my CDs on my computer or rip them and put them on my iPod. A lot of people broke their computers by doing just that. It sure would be a lot easier (and safer) to download those albums illegally (not that I’m promoting that behavior).

There are a lot of consumers who feel the way I do, and I don’t think Sony BMG wins any PR points by recalling the CDs and releasing a flawed patch. They’ve shattered consumer confidence. Now I wonder how or if they’ll attempt to win it back.

You’ve got to feel bad for the Vikings’ new owner, Zygi Wilf, who bought the team a scant four months ago.

To help repair the tarnished image of his team, Wilf has made attempts to become more transparent, making himself available to media, government officials, and sponsors. He’s also speaking directly to fans around the state. In response to the scandal, Wilf is working to adopt a tough new team code of conduct and promises to punish any players involved.

The Minnesota Vikings are making all the right moves in response to this crisis. Time and time again, Americans prove they’re willingness to "forgive and forget" as long as the person or organization who made the mistake is willing to be honest, up-front, and attempt to atone for their wrongdoing. Zygi Wilf’s doing all three.

This time, young women are upset that the clothing chain is selling t-shirts with perceived sexist and "degrading" sayings like, "I had a nightmare I was a brunette" and "Who needs brains when you have these." They’re planning on organizing a "girlcott" of the company to bring attention to the issue.

A&F has faced past criticism from conservative and parent groups for marketing thong underwear to young girls and including nude models in their catalogs.
 

It looks like Dell has learned from the experience, as the
company’s public relations department will now monitor blogs and forward
"complaints with personally identifiable information to the customer
service department so that representatives can contact dissatisfied consumers
directly."

The situation is amazing for several reasons. This is truly
another testament to the power one person can wield against a massive corporate
entity using only a blog to get things rolling. Second, it’s a wake-up call to
corporations, who will have to begin monitoring blogs to see what people are
saying about them, good as well as bad. While it’s true that companies are
forced to respond when a blogger has a negative experience with them, the
opposite is also true.

For example, when someone from the marketing department at
Unilever read a blogger’s post about how he couldn’t find his favorite
deodorant, Degree Sport, in stores, the marketing guy wrote him with
suggestions on where to find it and even offered to send him a free case. Not
only did Unilever just make a customer for life, it made me want to go out and
buy Degree Sport after reading about it. Imagine if Dell had responded in this
manner to Jeff Jarvis’s complaints.

The third aspect that struck me about the “Dell Hell” case
is the sheer speed such information travels. You’d think I’d be used to it by
now, but it still astounds me. Companies need to work FAST in situations like
this. A great example occurred when video surfaced of someone breaking open a
Kryptonite bicycle lock using only a Bic ink pen. The news spread like wildfire
over the Internet, but Kryptonite was slow to respond, only worsening the
company’s situation. In the end, they had to pay out millions of dollars to
replace the affected locks, and suffered a tarnished reputation as a result.

Companies are waking up to the fact that the “blogosphere”
is a real phenomenon, and bloggers have the potential to severely impact an
organization. Along these lines, PR pros will both act with and react to blogs,
using them as a communication tool while monitoring them for positive or
negative “buzz” about their organization.

By all accounts, Disney has everything in order. So far the only official word from the company appears to be the following statement, issued yesterday courtesy of Jacquee Polak, Spokesperson, Walt Disney World Resort.

"We are saddened by this highly unusual event. Our first concern is for the family and we are doing everything we can to help them during this difficult time.

The safety of our Guests and Cast remains our top priority and 8.6 million guests have enjoyed Mission: Space without incident since it opened in 2003."

Because the circumstances surrounding Bamuwamye’s death are so mysterious, Polak’s response is appropriately short and to-the-point, expressing Disney’s condolences to the family while re-affirming Disney World’s safe track record and commitment to providing a safe experience for future visitors.

If further details emerge that Walt Disney World was at fault in some way, I expect this to become major news. If the available details are correct, however, and this was a "freak" accident (possibly due to an unknown medical condition possessed by the victim, for example) then this incident will more than likely fade away, leaving Walt Disney World’s reputation relatively unscathed.