Bank Teller Shot, Loses Twins, Blames Employer

A Huntington Bank teller in Indianapolis was shot in the abdomen during a robbery. She was five months pregnant with twins. She's going to be all right, but she lost the twins. A tragedy for sure and a crisis for Huntington Bank.

This branch has been robbed three times since Katherin Schuffield started working there in March 2007, according to an interview in the Indianapolis Star Sunday. (http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080504/LOCAL18/805040379/1310/ARCHIVE) She and her husband are understandably angry at Huntington Bank, headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, because they claim employees never received training in what to do during a robbery. Katherin also criticizes the bank for its poor security measures.

Then in the article come the words that all too often make me wince: "Huntington Bank contacts did not respond to phone messages Saturday." Maybe the reporter didn't try very hard. But I'm guessing Huntington was employing the ol' duck-and-run of crisis communications. Companies where I've been responsible for media relations always knew how to reach me or a back-up spokesperson. It didn't matter if it was Kentucky Derby Day or not. Huntington owes it to its stakeholders to find a way to provide appropriate comments when an employee is shot in the workplace. Maybe it didn't occur to someone at the bank that the death of twin fetuses during a holdup might be considered news worth covering. Or maybe the corporate attorneys stepped in first.

Two days have past and it's the start of the new business week. Perhaps Huntington has made some sort of statement today. But Googling the name doesn't reveal any news of interest -- except for there being Huntington teller jobs on CareerBuilder.com. I don't think I'll apply. Perhaps Huntington is busy today making safety and security policy changes and communicating directly with its stakeholders. If so, great. I see nothing this afternoon on Huntington's web site, so I don't know.

For now, the robber remains at large. So does Huntington Bank.