Was Tylenol Poisoning Case the Poster Child for Effective Crisis Mangement?

The Tylenol poisoning crisis in 1982 is often recognized as a textbook case in how to respond and communicate during a crisis. But should it be? O'Dwyer's blog recently raised some doubts.

The blog cites a detailed New York Times article in August by Peter Goodman, national economic correspondent. He claimed companies like Toyota, BP, and Goldman Sachs failed to follow Johnson & Johnson's example of responding immediately to a crisis to retain credibility.

Goodman wrote, “'Exhibit A in the lesson book on forthright crisis management is the mass recall of Tylenol in 1982 after the deaths of seven people who ingested tainted painkillers. Johnson & Johnson promptly acknowledged that some of its product had been poisoned and pulled bottles off store shelves.'” (http://www.odwyerpr.com/blog/index.php?/archives/1111-Crisis-Feature-in-Sunday-NYT-Praises-JJ.html)

O'Dwyer's has taken issue with that premise before, and did so again, based largely on J&J taking five days before ordering a full recall. "By that time there were almost no Tylenol products on any store shelf in the U.S. J&J’s initial move was to recall two small lots that had distribution in the Chicago area. Only after another (non-fatal) poisoning using Tylenol capsules took place in Oroville, Calif., on Tuesday, Oct. 5, 1982 did J&J and the Food & Drug Administration order a recall of the product."

According to Scott Bartz, author of The Tylenol Mafia: Marketing, Murder, and Johnson & Johnson, there's far more to the story than how long it took to issue a recall.

"On September 29, 1982, seven Chicago area residents died after swallowing cyanide-laced Extra Strength Tylenol capsules. The official story is that it was a madman who on Tuesday, September 28, drove haphazardly through the northwest suburbs of Chicago, took eight Tylenol bottles off the shelves of eight randomly selected stores and then replaced an arbitrary number of Extra-Strength Tylenol capsules in each of those bottles with cyanide laced Tylenol capsules.

"The official story is a lie....

"Johnson & Johnson’s 'handling' of the Tylenol crisis was a well managed campaign of deception that diverted suspicion for the Tylenol murders away from Johnson & Johnson and its distribution network. Almost nothing you’ve ever heard about the Tylenol murders is supported by the evidence." (http://americanfraud.com/1982tylenolmurders.aspx)

Bartz's book contends that J&J made small recalls on Friday, two days after the seven poisonings and one day after executives were aware of the crisis. After the eighth poisoning, however, J&J didn't recall Tylenol with the lot number found with the victim.

On Friday night, the misinformation and panic reached an even higher level. "The Daily Herald and New York Times reported that cyanide-laced Tylenol capsules were found in two unsold bottles of Extra Strength Tylenol confiscated from the Osco Drug in Woodfiled Mall in Schaumburg, IL. Officials soon changed that story. The FDA said late Friday that it had found seven cyanide-poisoned capsules in a bottle removed from a drugstore in Schaumburg, IL, and seven more capsules from that SAME bottle are suspect. Soon the story was changed again by FDA officials who said that only seven poisoned capsules were recovered from just one unsold Tylenol bottle. However, Tyrone Fahner, the Daily Herald, and New York Times had all said that two unsold bottles of cyanide laced Tylenol capsules had been recovered from the Osco Drug store in Schaumburg."

Then came the witch hunt for a "madman." Several people attempted to extort money and so became suspects. One rumor was that one of the victims was the perpetrator and that he had laced a number of Tylenol capsules with cyanide to disguise his suicide.

Bartz said they were barking up the wrong proverbial tree all along. "After reviewing all available information and evidence relevant to the Tylenol tamperings, I concluded that the cyanide laced Tylenol capsules had been adulterated during distribution while under the control of Johnson & Johnson or Jewel Companies, and before the Tylenol bottles were delivered to the local retail stores."

Part of his theory has to do with probability. Math gives me a headache, so I'll try to summarize his thinking. "Of the seven Tylenol murder victims, Mary McFarland was the outlier. She was the only one who did not die from the very first dose she took from a bottle of cyanide-laced Tylenol capsules....

"The first five Tylenol capsules that McFarland took from her Tylenol bottle did not contain cyanide. That was a reasonable outcome since the probability that one of those first five capsules would contain cyanide was about 54 percent.... Conversely, it was extremely improbable that the very first dose taken from each of the other Tylenol victims’ four bottles would all contain cyanide - but they all did. This nearly impossible outcome makes no sense – unless there were many more bottles of cyanide-laced Tylenol in the Chicago area that the public never knew about. The probability that the very first dose taken from those four bottles would all contain cyanide is just 1 in 1,828, or 0.0547 percent." (http://americanfraud.com/marketingtylenol.aspx)

Was there a madman on the loose? Did the cyanide come from the Tylenol manufacturer or distributor? Was there a J&J cover up? We'll probably never know unless another Deep Throat confesses on his deathbed. But returning to the crisis communications aspects, did J&J really set the communications bar for others to emulate?

"'It's been about as effective a rescue job as I've seen in marketing,' said Stephen Greyser, a professor of marketing at the Harvard Business School.

"Though Johnson & Johnson executives often evade the press, in the aftermath of the tragedies they were never more talkative. For instance, James Burke, J&J's chairman, appeared on both the Phil Donahue Show and 60 Minutes. Executives repeatedly stressed the fact that Johnson & Johnson was blameless and that the adulterated capsules were the work of a crazed individual. (When matters calmed down, Johnson & Johnson's top executives reverted to their customary bashfulness. They have rebuffed the many requests for interviews for anniversary articles....)

"To whet consumer appetites, the company also inserted 80 million coupons in newspapers during November and December, good for $2.50 off any purchase of Tylenol. 'The couponing was a very well-chosen move in terms of the rhythm of purchase,' Mr. Greyser said, 'to make sure someone wouldn't buy another brand twice and maybe establish another habit.'

"Also, 2,250 sales representatives from 13 Johnson & Johnson subsidiaries called on doctors and pharmacists to cajole them to recommend Tylenol. To drum up retailer support, McNeil extended a 25 percent discount to outlets that bought as much Tylenol inventory as they did before the scare."

I wonder now about Johnson & Johnson's integrity. Read my blog on October 31, 2010, about recalls, a secret recall, and Congressional inquiries(http://crisisexperts.blogspot.com/2010/10/secret-recall-and-too-many-public.html). That post was before several recalls early in 2011.

It would appear the rebirth of Tylenol may have been more about marketing than it was about crisis communications.

Perhaps we need a new textbook case in how to communicate during a crisis. I suggest you contact Larry Smith, president of the Institute for Crisis Management (http://www.crisisexperts.com/), and ask him to tell you about his involvement in Edgewater Technologies' workplace shootings or Marathon Oil's pipeline rupture on a golf course.

Appalachian Coal Industry Faces Crisis of Supply And Blames Government and Environmentalists

The coal mining industry in the east faces a crisis. This time, it's not a labor crisis or an environmental crisis or a safety crisis, although all those crises figure into this one.

"The region's thick, easy-to-reach seams of coal are running out, forcing many operators to shift to cheaper and more destructive mining methods that draw heavier environmental regulation. Coal here is getting harder and costlier to dig - and the region, which includes (Kentucky,) southern West Virginia, Virginia and Tennessee, is headed for a huge collapse in coal production." (http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2011/09/27/general-us-coal-apos-s-appalachian-future_8703121.html)

The Associated Press story by Dylan Lovan goes on say the industry blames government -- the Obama administration specifically -- for the looming doom of eastern coal mining.

"Industry supporters and political leaders from the coalfields have taken aim at the Environmental Protection Agency under Obama, saying its tough stance on a controversial surface mining method known as mountaintop removal is stifling production and eliminating jobs. In 2009, the year President Obama took office, coal production in eastern Kentucky fell by nearly 19 percent from the year before, from 90 million tons to 73 million.

"'I am as afraid of my government as I have ever been,' said Rusty Justice, who owns a Pikeville, Ky., engineering and construction business that works with coal operators. 'The policies being enacted by my government is going to destroy the economy of my part of the state.'"

Then there's the other side of the story. According to a National Geographic article that describes mountaintop removal, "After clear-cutting a peak's forest, miners shatter its rock with high explosives. Then they scoop up the rubble in giant draglines and dump the overburden, as they call it, into a conveniently located hollow, or valley. The method was first tested in Kentucky and West Virginia in the late 1970s and has since spread to parts of Tennessee and Virginia....

"Coal companies have obliterated the summits of scores of mountains scattered throughout Appalachia, and more and more folks...are decrying the environmental and social fallout of what some refer to as strip mining on steroids.

"Not only is mountain topping less labor intensive than underground mining, it is also more efficient and profitable than the older form of surface mining, in which the operator stripped away the horizontal contours of a mountainside as one might peel an apple.... If the practice continues until 2012, it will have squashed a piece of the American earth larger than the state of Rhode Island." (http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/earth/surface-of-the-earth/when-mountains-move.html)

I have participated in and observed many such controversies, and you have too. Perhaps without exception, the truth lies in between extreme views. Business says this issue is going to destroy us, cost jobs, and hurt families. Environmentalists say that if we don't do something, the environment will be irreparably damaged and people's health will suffer.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the world changes. If you don't believe it, just try finding a decent blacksmith or typewriter repair shop these days. I visited many ghost towns in the mountains of Idaho, where once people got rich and businesses flourished. Then the silver or gold or whatever petered out and everyone moved on to do something else. That's what happens with nonrenewable, finite resources.

Coal is a finite resource. We've always known that someday people will have to accept the inevitable and move on, whether mountaintop removal is allowed or forbidden.

Try Googling "coal mining companies violations" and scroll through the list. Massey Energy, which I've blogged about often, gets a lot of hits, for sure. But there are many other names. For example, "Just one coal mining company, Nally and Hamilton Enterprises, has been caught making twelve thousand violations of the Clean Water Act, neglecting even to monitor the pollution coming out of its coal mines, and then faking data to make it seem that the coal mines were clean." (http://irregulartimes.com/index.php/archives/2011/03/11/1-coal-mining-company-has-12000-clean-water-act-violations/)

I'm not suggesting that coal companies are the Evil Empire or that environmentalists always have the facts straight. Far from either extreme. But without a communications strategy, Appalachian coal mining may go the way of the eight-track.

There are three kinds of audiences: advocates, adversaries, and ambivalents. The advocates don't take much feeding and watering because they're already on your side. Just make sure to keep them informed. The adversaries won't believe anything you tell them, so there's no use wasting time on them. The ambivalents are usually the majority. They don't care much. Those are people who must be kept ambivalent or pulled over to the advocacy side. Watch what the opponents are telling them, and then set the record straight from your perspective.

Coal mine operators: Show you can behave safely and responsibly toward the environment. If mountaintop removal really isn't so bad, take reporters and others to a mine site and show them. If it really is devastating to mother nature -- well, you can't tell your story if you have no story to tell.

And politicians: be careful about jumping on the coal industry's bandwagon. Coal companies are big campaign contributors. Be sure you're on the right side before you make statements like Senator Mitch McConnell, who calls federal government's enforcement actions against the industry a "war on coal."

And in Pittsburgh in the 1950s, when on a clear day you could see to the end of your arm, I suppose environmental regulations constituted a "war on the steel industry."

My point of all this babble is that no one in this issue seems to be doing a good job. The victor isn't necessarily the one who can spend the most and shout the loudest. The winner is the one with the most effective communications plan that is well executed. And factual!

Kentucky AG Carries a Big Stick Against Misleading Claims of For-Profit Colleges

If you handle crisis communications for a for-profit college in Kentucky -- or anywhere else for that matter -- be forewarned. Make sure your website and recruiters aren't overselling the link between your institution and finding jobs.

Here in Kentucky, Attorney General Jack Conway has filed the third suit his office has launched against for-profit colleges. Five other unnamed Kentucky schools are still under investigation. The latest is against National College of Kentucky, which has about 5,000 students at six campuses.

Conway alleged that National College posted information last December that claimed 96% of graduates from its Louisville campus were successful in finding employment. But Conway said in 2010, the college reported to the accrediting agency that its job-placement number was 60%. After the investigation began, the website changed 96%, but it still didn't say 60. He questioned the employment rates of the other campuses as well.

"Conway said National added a disclaimer saying that its Website numbers reflect employment figures for graduates employed in any job. 'So this very well may have been the job they had before they first came to National, or a job in a completely unrelated field that didn’t match their field of study,' he said." (http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011309270045)

To its credit, the college issued a statement instead of the ubiquitous no comment. "It’s proud of its 'long history of providing career-focused education' but added that it could not comment on the suit because it had not been served. 'Each individual student’s success is our main focus and we remain committed to that,' it said."

National College's tuition ranges from $11,000 for some diplomas to $55,000 for some bachelor’s degrees. Conway said, “'National College is putting its bottom line before the hopes and dreams of students who are trying to better their lives. The reality is that more and more students are leaving for-profit schools with high debt loads and without the high-paying jobs they were promised....'

"The suit seeks an order enjoining National College from violating the Kentucky Consumer Protection Act’s ban against false advertising and asks civil penalties of $2,000 per violation of that law."

More costly could be the financial repercussions of students who decide to matriculate elsewhere. In July, Conway accused Daymar College of overcharging for textbooks and misleading students about financial aid and credit hours. In August, he joined a whistleblower suit in federal court alleging that Education Management Corp., the parent company of Brown Mackie College, paid recruiters to pump up enrollment figures.

The schools named need to develop an effective crisis communications plan to better ensure those in their schools stay there and those shopping for a degree will seriously consider them.

All for-profit colleges should be making sure their communications accurately reflect employment chances for their students. A 96% success rate placing students in jobs? Come on! That's hooey even in a sub-4%-unemployment economy.

"'Contrary to what critics may say, this is not an assault on the industry as a whole. It’s an effort to get at some bad actors and some concerns that we have about these practices,' Conway said.

"He said he would advise students considering enrolling at for-profit colleges not to be 'swayed by high-pressure sales tactics, or pressure to sign on the spot.... Ask questions about the transferability of credits, ask questions about the job placement rates and whether or not it’s related to the field of study.'”

California Utility Allowed Crisis to Smolder for 50 Years Before It Killed 8 People

This is it! I found it: The textbook case of a smoldering crisis. That's a crisis someone knows about but no one takes action to fix the problem before a sudden crisis breaks out. This smoldering crisis killed eight people last year and destroyed 38 homes in San Bruno, California.

The culprit here is Pacific Gas and Electric. "The first warning sign came in 1948, when four 'rejectible' seam welds were uncovered in a small-scale survey during the installation of Line 132, the (National Transportation Safety Board) said.

"Other warnings followed after the portion of the line that exploded was rerouted to make way for the Crestmoor subdivision in 1956.

"In 1988, a flawed seam weld led to a leak...." The list continues, but you get the idea. (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/09/27/MNPK1L9JM5.DTL) "PG&E did not consider such seam weld flaws as a risk to a line unless two flaws were found within 1 mile of each other, the safety board said."

The NTSB this week ruled PG&E had made numerous mistakes in the management of its transmission-pipeline system, including its failure to test more widely for substandard welds, even after finding several defects on the pipeline that exploded last September. The safety board found that PG&E suffered from "multiple and recurring deficiencies in PG&E operational practices."

There's plenty of blame to pass around. "The report also said state and federal regulators had not done enough to ensure the company was running a safe system, instead placing what the safety board's chairwoman called 'blind trust' in PG&E despite a dismal track record. The safety board's 140-page report provides factual findings to back up its conclusion last month that a 'litany of failures' by PG&E over more than five decades led to the explosion...."

PP&E has a statement on its website from President Chris Johns (his predecessor was replaced earlier this year), which may be about as good a statement as the company can make following the explosion and report. "PG&E is grateful for the NTSB's thorough investigation of the San Bruno pipeline accident and fully embraces the Board's recommendations for improving the operations and management of the company's natural gas system. We are implementing those recommendations as part of a larger effort, both immediate and long-term, to promote safer pipeline operations.

"We are committed to continuing to learn from the San Bruno accident and to sharing those learnings across the natural gas industry so that a tragedy of this magnitude never happens again." (http://www.pge.com/about/newsroom/newsreleases/20110926/pgampe_statement_on_final_ntsb_report_on_san_bruno_accident.shtml)
If you've ever been involved in an ordeal like this one, you know how much easier it would have been to take action in 1948 or even 2009 to prevent the explosion than it was to put your tail between your legs and ask forgiveness. The utility will never fully recover from this. Seventy-nine years from now, people will still talk about where they were when the gas line exploded.

The Institute for Crisis Management's data file shows two-thirds of all crises are of the smoldering variety, and that very close to 100% of those can be prevented. Trust me on this: You don't want to learn that the hard way.

Eastern Livestock Crisis Will Lead to Trial

Sometimes, crises are earned. Here's a follow-up to an earned crisis I first wrote about last November. (http://crisisexperts.blogspot.com/2010/11/cattle-company-gives-customers-and.html)

"Four people associated with one of the nation’s largest cattle brokerages, the Indiana-based Eastern Livestock, were charged Thursday with what state prosecutors describe as a check-kiting scheme that cost 172 cattle producers in Kentucky more than $840,000. Two of the men also face federal mail fraud charges and the possible forfeiture of $4.7 million if convicted.

"A grand jury in Metcalfe County, in Southern Kentucky, charged 71-year-old Thomas “Tommy” Gibson, one of the founders of the company, 59-year-old Steve McDonald and 48-year-old Grant Gibson, all of Lanesville, Ind., and 43-year-old Darren Brangers of Louisville with engaging in organized crime between 2009 and 2010."(http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011309220073 )

Last November, I wrote, "If the owner is in prison and the company's financial problems are not salvageable, there's not much any crisis consultant can do to save the company. But the Eastern Livestock crisis is unusual. Most of the time, a crisis communications consultant can advise a series of steps that include key audiences, messages, staff duties, and follow-up communications to mend bridges and prepare for possible aftershocks."

That's assuming the company wants to do "the right thing." In this case, the company just wants to keep its collective fannies out of prison.

"U.S. Department of Agriculture officials said Eastern Livestock, which operates out of an office on West Market Street in New Albany and is now in bankruptcy, may owe more than 700 ranchers across the Midwest, South and West a total of $130 million from bad checks." And guess what?: "A message left at Eastern Livestock was not immediately returned Thursday afternoon."

The company owes money to about 740 ranchers in 30 states, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. "Three of those owed money sued and forced Eastern into involuntary bankruptcy, which is pending. The company’s accounts were frozen by an Ohio judge in November, and USDA records show the company is bonded for only $875,000."

Here's a company that gets what it deserves. Allegedly. I just hope all those bilked farmers get what they deserve, too. By the way, Eastern's website is still functional as if there's nothing wrong. (http://easternlivestock.net/Home/tabid/569/Default.aspx)

Big 12 Conference Forces Commissioner To Walk the Plank of Its Sinking Ship

Are you old enough to remember when college sports was about sports? Or maybe I just remember when I was innocent and naive.

I wrote earlier this week about the Big East's woes as Pitt and Syracuse defected for the ACC. It will cost each of them $5 million just to exit the Big East's door.

Yesterday, Big 12 Commissioner Dan Beebe was fired. He didn't leave because of the sweet 13-year, $1.2 billion contract he negotiated with Fox Sports. Instead, he got blamed for schools leaving the conference. Nebraska and Colorado are gone. Texas A&M plans to leave by July for the SEC, and four others — Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech — were looking into moving to the Pac-12 just this week.

"'I have no negative personal feelings toward our previous commissioner, but I'm alarmed by the fact that in 15 months we lost three teams and I'm aware in detail how some of those situations played out,' (University of Oklahoma President David) Boren said. 'I don't feel it was inevitable that we lost those three teams.'" (http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/pressure-mounts-big-12-salve-wounds-14585257?page=2)

The nine remaining schools greed (Ha! That was a real typo, a Freudian slip! I meant to say "agreed") to forfeit their first- and second-tier television rights to the Big 12 for the next six years. "That means all revenue from the top television games — shown currently on networks owned by ABC/ESPN and Fox — would continue to go to the Big 12 even if a school bolts to another league. The six-year term runs past the next negotiating period for the top-tier contract, currently with ABC/ESPN, in a bid to keep the nine schools together for the next contract." (http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/pressure-mounts-big-12-salve-wounds-14585257)

Moneyball, a movie about the Oakland A's baseball team, comes out in theaters today. A sequel by the same name could apply to major college football and basketball. So just how much of this money do you suppose the athletes, the stars of this show, receive? The NCAA makes sure the answer is zero. In fact:

"The NCAA passed down sanctions to the Boise State athletic department for violations in tennis, track and field and football, claiming a lack of institutional control, according to ESPN." (http://bleacherreport.com/articles/848261-boise-state-sanctions-how-the-ncaa-got-it-wrong)

Shame! Why were there football sanctions? Because some football players allowed recruits to sleep on their couch, that's why. Yeah, now there's a program out of control. I would suggest that it's the NCAA and its various conferences that lack "institutional control." More and greater crises loom for college sports run amok.

Target Taking Hits, Losing Sales, for Being Unprepared for Sales Volume

Target has a mess on its hands and, appropriately, a bullseye on its back. The retailer hyped Missoni by Target, a line of goods from an Italian designer that customers could buy in the stores or on-line at greatly reduced prices.

But the store did such a good job promoting that it hasn't been able to come close to meeting the demand, leading to a crisis as customers rip the chain through social media. Target's website crashed and was down most of the day when Missoni at Target was first available on September 13. Stores ran out in hours. A special store that opened in Manhattan sold out of everything and locked the doors after six hours. It was supposed to be open for three days.

"About two hours after the 6 a.m. launch, many on Target's website came face-to-face with Target's mascot bulldog and the disappointing news: 'Woof! We are suddenly extremely popular. You may not be able to access our site momentarily due to unusually high traffic. Please stay here and we'll try to get you in as soon as we can!' This happened throughout the day. Some who were patient got through. Those who weren't left the website disappointed.

"Ben Rushlo, director of performance management at Keynote Systems Inc., which tracks websites' performance, said that he couldn't remember the last time a site stayed down most of the day. He said usually, a website slowly deteriorates throughout the day — with minor glitches becoming more prevalent — before crashing. 'It wasn't your normal meltdown,' he said (http://www.timesonline.com/news/national/target-s-blunder-with-designer-continues/article_aa5cbdc4-2c9e-5d7e-91d0-af13d818d62b.html)

Many who did get through with orders had items disappear from their online shopping carts. Some couldn't check out. Some who received their goods started selling them on eBay for more than double Target's prices.

So how has Target been winning back loyal customers? "'A lot of companies don't want to fix the problem,' (C. Britt Beemer, chairman of America's Research Group) said. 'They feel it's better to let it go away. But the problem is that's a dangerous strategy.'"

We preach that at the Institute for Crisis Management just about daily. Some heed the warning; others take their chances and dig foxholes. The latter is pretty much what Target is doing.

I had to look hard and do a search under the media tab on Target's website. All I found was this brief message: "The nationwide launch of Missoni for Target on Sept. 13 was met by unprecedented demand, both in our stores and online at Target.com. This demand impacted our Target.com site and affected the shipment and delivery of select guest orders. Providing an exceptional guest experience is incredibly important to Target, and we have a team dedicated to addressing those guests who have been affected." (http://pressroom.target.com/pr/news/target-statement-regarding-missoni-Sept2011.aspx?ncid=38121)

Target's Facebook page is more of the same -- promotional stuff. A glance through readers' comments reveals most are positive, but some carry a grudge about some employment issues or an accusation about not supporting our soldiers. But nothing I see there suggests Target is getting its message out about its crisis response. Some say that's costing business.

"'This was badly handled,' said Robert Passikoff, president of Brand Keys Inc., a New York customer research firm that has an index that shows Target's image has taken a hit. 'What was supposed to be engaging and delightful is now the opposite — disappointment....'

"He said the negative publicity has pushed down Target's reading on (his) company's Loyalty Index, which measures brand reputation, among other things, to 109 from 119 in August. Brands should have at least a 116, Passikoff says, and anything under 100 signals 'trouble.'"

Others disagree. Brian Sozzi, a Wall Street Strategies analyst, for example, doesn't think customers will stay mad for long. That may be true. But can a retailer afford to shrug off even a short-lived decline in sales? After all, there are only 93 shopping days till Christmas.

Anne D'Innocenzio, AP retail writer whose story I've been referring to in this post, quotes one customer who probably is pretty typical. "Megan Bonner, 26, from Memphis, Tenn., bragged on Twitter after ordering $300 worth of Missoni dresses and cardigans until the next day when she got emails telling her that her shipments would be delayed. Nervous that she wouldn't get the items at all, she bought some of them at a nearby Target. But now she worries she won't be refunded for the other merchandise.

"'I feel violated. I feel taken advantage of,' she said. 'If I don't hear back from them in another week, I will call back. Maybe, I just won't go back anymore.'"

Retailers need to be more adept at communicating through a crisis than Target is doing to this point. There's too much at stake to make bad decisions or, just as bad, to not be prepared at all.

IHOPs Raided by Federal Agents; No Word Yet

I praised IHOP recently for its communications following a shooting in its store in Carson City, Nevada. In light of a series of federal raids on seven IHOPS and managers' homes today, IHOP isn't doing so well. But it's still early, and the messages for this crisis are harder to craft than they were after the shooting. (http://www.ihop.com/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=39)

"Members of the FBI, US Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency took part in the restaurant raids, which began at approximately 6:00am local time." (http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/dpp/news/local/federal-agents-raid-seven-ihop-restaurants-in-ohio-and-indiana-20110920-wpms)

Authorities were reportedly investigating allegations of money laundering and undocumented workers according to WTOL-TV. "Special Agent Scott Wilson, of the FBI's Cleveland Division, said he could not comment on the case but that he was not aware of any arrests in connection with the raids, FOX News Channel reported."

All of the restaurants are owned by Terry Elk, whose real name is Tarek Elkafrawi. "Two homes were also raided, along with two storage units owned by Maazen Kadir, who is listed as the area manager of the west Toledo IHOP, WTOL-TV reported."

According to a noon news report, IHOP has pledged its support in the investigation. I'll be watching with interest to see what if anything IHOP decides it can say.

Big East Faces Traumatic Defections

The Big East Conference is now the Little East.

The departure of Pit and Syracuse for the Atlantic Coast Conference leaves seven football members. Athletic directors and presidents from those seven, including TCU which joins next year, held an emergency meeting yesterday. The outcome of the meeting depends on who's talking.

You won't learn anything new from the Big East web site (http://www.bigeast.org/). I see nothing yet about the defection to the ACC or the meeting with member universities.

According to USA Today, "Big East commissioner John Marinatto said member schools are committed to building a conference 'stronger than it has ever been in both basketball and football.'"

That wasn't the take-away by an anonymous attendee. "The official said league schools are committed to recruiting more schools but did not make any pledge to remaining in the league until it's clear what the league will look like. The official also said about four or five of the Big East schools are committed to keeping the league together, but the other two or three need to know where the league is headed before a firm commitment is made." (http://content.usatoday.com/communities/campusrivalry/post/2011/09/big-east-united-nations-conference-realignment/1)

The Big East's action plan consists of considering an increase in the exit fee, now standing at $5 million. Beyond that, "One possible option for the Big East was merging with five Big 12 schools if the Big 12 began to unravel if Texas, Oklahoma, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State left for the Pac-12. However, late Tuesday night, the Pac-12 said it would not expand. The second option for the Big East would be to add Navy and Air Force."

If you're interested in reading about the Big East, Pitt, and Syracuse, check out this editorial from ESPN. "Hypocrisy alert! Funny how some of the schools and major administrative players in the Big East and ACC realignment drama have done philosophical 180s. Just goes to show that loyalty always seems to have an expiration date." (http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=wojciechowski_gene&page=wojciechowski-110921&sportCat=ncf).

The Big East seems to be communicating with the leadership of its remaining members. But it's forgetting about the fans, both students and adults, and taxpayers who are buying the tickets and paying taxes.

And remember, Big East, you are a conference for many more sports than just football and basketball.

Crane Falls Over Onto Nursing Home

A Louisiana retirement home suffered a crisis yesterday that could have been far worse than it was. A 110-foot crane, on site to remove an air conditioner on the roof, toppled into the nursing home, crashing through the ceiling and bursting water pipes. One employee was treated for minor injuries, but none of the residents was in the so-called creative corner when the crane fell.

I have trouble understanding why so few retirement homes have crisis communications plans. I don't know if Live Oak at The Oaks in Shreveport has a crisis communications plan. If not, someone in corporate had some pretty good sense in responding.

According to the website of parent company Willis-Knighton, "Out of concern for their safety, all residents in the East and West wing of the Health Center at Live Oak were moved from their rooms to other areas on the property while structural damage is being evaluated.

"The lobby of Live Oak at The Oaks has sustained damage and flooding from pipes broken when the crane fell and the area has been cordoned off. Structural experts have been called in to evaluate the damage and assess safety of the building. Any activities involving outside participants at The Oaks of Louisiana through Tuesday, Sept. 20, have been postponed."

Today, some 24 hours after the accident, Willis-Knighton updated its site. "Live Oak residents at The Oaks of Louisiana had an uneventful night following an accident Monday morning when a construction crane fell on the health center building

“'All residents are happy. They slept well,' says Kevin Fuhrman, chief of operations for The Oaks. The 110-foot crane is expected to be removed this morning by a larger crane that arrived late Monday night from Longview, Texas. Fuhrman says the process is expected to take a couple of hours, at which time damage will be assessed." (http://www.oaksofla.com/Home.aspx)

A key stakeholder when it comes to nursing homes are the families of its residents. They need reassurance that their loved ones are safe and receiving proper care. I have yet to find a nursing home that is prepared for a crisis. Sure, such a plan wouldn't have a chapter for cranes falling through the roof. But it certainly should have sections to cover natural disasters and fires, complete with statements for the media, the website, residents, and residents' families.

A group of nursing homes could join together to cover the cost of a crisis communications plan. Why so many don't is a mystery to me and a potential crisis for them. You nursing homes bear a great many crisis risks, any one of which could sink your company. Willis-Knighton exercised good communications judgement on its website and with reporters. How would you have done? (http://www.shreveporttimes.com/article/20110920/NEWS01/109200317/Crane-falls-Shreveport-nursing-home?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Ctext%7CFRONTPAGE)

Reno Aircraft Plummets Into Spectators

Last month, a stunt pilot crashed during an air show in Kansas City. No one on the ground was injured. (http://crisisexperts.blogspot.com/2011/08/stunt-pilot-crashes-and-show-must-go-on.html)

But in Reno last weekend, a pilot crashed into the stands and killed at least 10 people, including himself, and injured about 70. "Pilot Jimmy Leeward had said the changes made the P-51 Mustang faster and more maneuverable, but in the months before Friday's crash even he wasn't certain exactly how it would perform. 'I know it'll do the speed,' he said in a podcast uploaded to YouTube in June. 'The systems aren't proven yet. We think they're going to be OK.'" (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=140582880)

The future of the Reno air races is now in doubt. "In the highly competitive, bravado-filled world of air racing, pilots go for broke on the ground and in the sky, hitting speeds of 500 mph. Leeward is the 20th pilot to die at the air races since they began 47 years ago, but Friday's crash was the first in which spectators were killed.

"Some experts say the planes are pushed to such limits — muscled up to exceed 500 mph — that the last-minute inspections of the aircraft at Reno and strict medical and training standards for pilots are scant hedge against disaster. And while safety concerns had stopped such races elsewhere, the 47-year-old contest has remained a popular fixture in northern Nevada." (http://articles.latimes.com/2011/sep/17/nation/la-na-reno-air-safety-20110918)

The FAA is covering its fanny. "In a prepared statement, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor said that officials for the agency and the event's sponsor, the Reno Air Racing Assn., 'thoroughly vet all pilots and aircraft before they are allowed to perform.'

"But Gregor also said the FAA depended on the racing association's technical experts to inspect the aircraft. 'FAA inspectors review records to ensure these inspections have been done,' he said. He said the 'FAA closely examines the organization's racecourse and proposed spectator area with the goal of ensuring that a crash or midair collision does not endanger spectators.'"

This crisis reminds me of the stage that collapsed at the Indiana state fair last month. Innocent people who were there to be entertained died or were injured. Someone will pay dearly for this air disaster. And the annual air races probably never will be held again, much to the chagrin of merchants who make money from visitors.

"Protective measures at the National Championship Air Races weren't able to prevent Friday's disaster. 'This is an ultra-hazardous event,' says one air accident expert."

Colorado Cantaloupes Recall Affects Innocent Growers, Too

A crisis can paint many with a broad brush. That's what's happening to cantaloupe growers following a recall of melons from Jensen Farms in Holly, Colorado.

"A company spokeswoman confirmed that one of the Jensen Farms cantaloupes, sampled from a store, tested positive for listeria. The cantaloupes were shipped between July 29 and Sept. 10 and distributed throughout Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska, Utah, Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, Tennessee, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.

"Several Colorado grocery stores have removed cantaloupe from shelves, though there has been no official recall. Jensen Farms is the first and only farm to have voluntarily recalled its cantaloupe.... During this period, the company shipped a total of just over 300,000 cases.

"Officials said because they do not know when or where the potential contamination occurred, the company recalled the entire harvest. Officials still do not know how or where the contamination may have occurred within the supply chain....

"Jensen's fourth-generation family farm in Holly, normally busy with harvest now, was ghostly quiet after the suspected listeria contamination forced Jensen to shut down Monday and destroy his cantaloupe crops." (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/29191856/detail.html)

Recalls like this affect innocent others. "(Kent Lusk, owner of the 900-acre Lusk Farm) echoed complaints by several Lower Arkansas Valley farmers that health investigators should have pinpointed the source of the outbreak before issuing such a blanket claim against farmers.

“'The protocol should be, they need to have the facts first. They can’t prove anything. In the U.S. I thought you were innocent until proven guilty and people who grow cantaloupe are not guilty,' Lusk said." (http://www.chieftain.com/news/local/farmers-vow-to-survive-listeriosis-cantaloupe-recall/article_97df3ae0-e0eb-11e0-86b1-001cc4c03286.html)

No, he's wrong. In reality, when it comes to recalls, everyone is guilty, especially when it comes to products like cantaloupes that aren't diet staples. Farmers need to be prepared to communicate.

"On Monday, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment warned consumers not to eat cantaloupe from the 'Rocky Ford growing region' for fear of contracting listeriosis, a sometimes deadly bacterial infection. The warning set off widespread dumping of cantaloupes from store shelves, school menus and other venues.... The national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports 'at least 22 people in seven states have been infected with the outbreak-associated strains of listeria monocytogenes as of Wednesday....'"

"Bill and Leonida Sackett have been farming near Rocky Ford for 30 years. Leonida said Friday that sales of cantaloupe at their stand at 20277 E. Highway 50 in Rocky Ford had picked up 'a little bit.'

“'We had the four days with no business for cantaloupe. We lost lots of money,' she said. The Sacketts were selling the third crop of cantaloupe grown on 40 acres of their 200-acre spread. Customers were starting to buy cantaloupe Friday, although they bought fewer than before, Sackett said. 'Before they bought five or 10 cantaloupe. Now they are just buying a few,' she said....

"In her 24 years of managing the stand, she said she could not recall any similar threat to the family’s livelihood. She said her big fear is the long-term impact of the recall. 'I don’t know what the sales will be like next year,” Sackett said. “That’s the one that’s kind of scary.'” (http://www.chieftain.com/news/local/farmers-vow-to-survive-listeriosis-cantaloupe-recall/article_97df3ae0-e0eb-11e0-86b1-001cc4c03286.html)

Meanwhile, Lusk and his fellow farmers are taking action. “'In fact, on Saturday we will be having a customer appreciation day and we will be selling chilies, watermelons and cantaloupes,' Lusk said of the farm’s produce stand on U.S. 50 just west of La Junta."

Jensen Farms owner Eric Jensen is responding to the crisis appropriately: with regrets, but without accepting liability. Yet. Authorities still don't know whether the listeria came from the farm or a handler in the supply chain. "'We're still in shock,' Jensen said, choking with emotion. 'We're completely focused on our recall efforts right now.'"

Here come the law suits. "Charles and Tammie Palmer said they bought a cantaloupe at a WalMart in Colorado Springs on Aug. 17, but Charles didn't eat it until Aug. 19.... The 71-year-old Colorado Springs man quickly recovered from the stomach ache but 11 days later, he couldn't get out of bed because he had a massive headache, his wife said. On Aug. 31, Charles Palmer became non-responsive and was hospitalized.

"'It's horrible, it's scary. I don't think he'll ever be able to drive again because of the confusion,' Tammie said. 'It's hard to see him in bed, not doing anything....'

"The Palmers' attorney, Bill Marler, said the cantaloupe Palmer ate was from Jensen Farms.... The lawsuit, filed in El Paso County, names Jensen Farms and Walmart as defendants." (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/29191856/detail.html)

Jensen Farms has a spokesperson, as mentioned above.

"Company spokeswoman Amy Philpott made a number of points regarding the recall:

"• The company is run by two brothers who are quite upset that anyone might be getting sick from their cantaloupe. They stopped production on Monday when the State of Colorado issued a general listeria alert for the melons from their region.

"• On Monday afternoon, Jensen began working with their marketing company to get customers to pull the melons off the shelves.

"• They don't know how many melons are being recalled.

"• Jensen produces about 40 percent of the cantaloupes from this region.

"• This is very unusual. Listeria is typically associated with processing. However, this outbreak involves whole melons.

"• State investigators have been on the farm, swabbing harvest equipment and packing equipment.

"• Jensen also grows wheat, pumpkin, alfalfa and corn.

"'This company is really, really emotionally impacted by this and they wanted to do the right thing … being proactive,' Philpott said." (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/29191856/detail.html)

No matter what your business is, a crisis not of your making can cut into sales. Your organization needs an operations plan (What do we do?), a communications plan (What do we say and to whom?), and a recovery plan (How do we get back to business as usual?).

Dr. Oz A-Peels to Apple Juice Drinkers With Over-the-Rainbow Lab Tests

Legend has it that William Tell shot an apple off his son's head. Apples have been a target for cheap shots ever since.

I remember the great apple scare of 1989 when we were told that apples contained a cancer-causing pesticide called alar. Many needlessly stopped eating apples and apple products. The American Council on Science and Health said, "The case remains to this day one of the supreme examples how a combination of environmentalists, 'public interest' lawyers, publicists, and members of the news media can foist a bogus health scare on an unwitting public." (http://www.acsh.org/publications/pubid.1777/pub_detail.asp)

Why apples? Why not peaches, plums, or cherries? Because, as William Tell knew, apples made a better target. What fruit says health and well-being better than an apple? It's America, motherhood, and the fruit patriotic pies are made from.

Why, then, do you suppose Dr. Oz, host of a popular daytime TV show about health, chose to target apple juice instead of orange, grape, or boysenberry? Because apples are symbolic, that's why. As a result, those who produce and sell apple juice have another crisis on their hands.

"Dr. Mehmet Oz suggested on a recent airing of his syndicated TV show...that apple juice contains unacceptably high levels of arsenic. And he's refusing to budge from that position, saying it's time for the nation to take a closer look at its food supply, particularly given how much food is imported from other countries where farming standards -- such as pesticide use -- are not the same as U.S. standards.

"'I want everyone out there who has already purchased apple juice to keep drinking it,' Oz told ABC News. 'I don't have any concerns about it in the short run. My bigger concern is over the next decade or the next generation. We may be exposing our kids to needlessly high levels of arsenic.'" (http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/nationnow/2011/09/apple-juice-flap-wont-cause-dr-oz-to-back-down-.html)

Dr. Oz explains on his website, "In just one type of juice, there can be apple concentrate from up to seven countries. Although arsenic has been banned in the US for decades, it’s not always regulated in other countries where it may be in the water supply or used in pesticides contaminating the juice you're giving to your children. The EPA has a limit on arsenic in drinking water – the level allowed is 10 parts per billion. Currently, there is no limit on arsenic in apple juice." (http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/dr-oz-investigates-arsenic-apple-juice)

Five brands of apple juice were tested by Dr. Oz's lab. The companies tested their own products and found levels lower than those cited on the show. (For companies' initial responses, see http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/juice-companies-respond.)

Gerber's juice was accused of having the highest levels of arsenic. On its website, the company responded, "Gerber’s results are supported by additional testing from the FDA. The FDA tested Gerber product samples from the same manufacturing lot and confirmed our product is safe and within acceptable ranges. Ingredients used in foods and beverages may contain trace amounts of various substances that naturally occur in the environment. Trace substances, such as arsenic, are found in low levels and pose no health risk."

Dr. Oz is under attack by more than the five juice companies. "Among the critics is Dr. Richard Besser, the former head of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who lit into Oz on 'Good Morning America.' He described the Oz segment as an 'extremely irresponsible' report that tugs at the heartstrings of parents and was akin to yelling 'Fire!' in a movie theater." (http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/nationnow/2011/09/apple-juice-flap-wont-cause-dr-oz-to-back-down-.html)

The FDA also takes exception to the report. "In letters to the show posted on its website, the agency says that its testing -- which included one of the same lots featured in the segment -- didn't find elevated levels of arsenic. The agency was displeased by the report in other ways as well, saying it didn't distinguish between organic arsenic and inorganic arsenic and that it compared acceptable levels of arsenic found in apple juice to that found in water. The FDA has a stricter standard for drinking water because people drink more water than apple juice."

Aleta Miller is a former member of the Genesis Juice Cooperative and has been around apple juice processing for years. "Miller said there is organic arsenic in the juice, but none that is a health concern. 'There's a natural occurring amount in the seeds of the apples that are arsenic, but it's not dangerous for human consumption,' Miller said. 'You would have to drink probably 10,000 gallons of apple juice in order to die, but then you would die anyway.'" (http://www.kval.com/news/local/129926063.html)

Despite support from an assortment of outside experts, apple juice producers will face this crisis for some time to come. Dr. Oz is viewed by many as a more credible source of information than many other "doctors" on daytime TV. Some loss of sales seems inevitable as juice makers strategize ways to reach consumers with their message of safeness. And even though Dr. Oz himself advises viewers not to stop drinking apple juice they may have purchased when they didn't know better, he will go for the ratings on September 21 when he rehashes the issue again.

In the meantime, eat an apple. They say an apple a day keeps the Dr. Oz away.

Dog-Eat-Dog World Comes Back to Bite Mayor

"Stupid is as stupid does." Here is a crisis that is happening because of stupid: a poor decision and some thoughtless quotes to the media. This crisis never had to get as far as it has.

"'Immediately when I went in and opened the door, the smell hit me in the face,' said Lynda Sylvester. Sylvester says she couldn't believe what she saw inside the J.B. Ogle Animal Shelter (in Jeffersonville, Indiana, just across the river from Louisville) on August 29th.

"'I saw feces on dogs,' said Sylvester. 'The dogs were filthy. There's no food. No water. There was water all over the floor. The drains were stopped up. All the animals had feces in their cages.' Sylvester went inside and took photos. She says she showed them to Mayor Tom Galligan and the media." (http://www.wave3.com/story/15404244/animal-rights-activists-say-shelter-is-neglecting-animals)

WAVE-3 TV asked Shelter Director Harry Wilder about the mess. "'Because of the time frame I guess,' said Wilder. 'I mean they're messy every morning.' He says the photos were taken before they had cleaned for the day and the mess was from overnight."

By the time the mayor inspected the shelter, he pronounced it to be clean. However -- and here's where the stupid decision comes into play -- "WAVE 3 has learned Galligan ordered the staff to close the kennel to the public after seeing those pictures, but residents can still see individual animals and adopt. Jeffersonville spokesperson Larry Thomas says it's for liability reasons and to prevent someone from sharing pictures like these before investigating."

That's more crap than there was in the cages.

Wilder has held his position for 10 years and has been appointed by two mayors. WAVE 3 asked about his experience with animals before he took this job.

"'I have none,' said Wilder. 'I was a meat cutter for nearly 40 years. I think the position is simply to...manage the people that I have working for me. The position don't call for anybody to be an animal person.' He claims the attacks against him are political."

And there you have it. A stupid quote. The animal shelter director explains, "The position don't call for anybody to be an animal person." He goes on to claim to be a victim of politics.

And then the crisis got even worse. "The Josephine B. Ogle Animal Shelter in Jeffersonville will remain closed while workers clean and vaccinate about 30 dogs, one day after a veterinarian discovered an adopted puppy had the deadly canine distemper virus....

"Wilder went against the advice of about six to eight veterinarians who recommended the remaining dogs be euthanized in case the virus had spread. Distemper tests are considered expensive, hard to find, and unreliable, according to shelters. A spokeswoman at Louisville Metro Animal Services said the only accurate distemper test can be performed after the dog is already dead.

"The news comes just one day after protesters questioned the conditions inside the shelter. Wilder says while the shelter is closed, they will repaint and repair some walls. The shelter is expected to stay closed for the next couple of weeks." (http://www.whas11.com/news/local/Jeffersonville-animal-shelter-remains-closed-after-distemper-case-129548063.html)

Bill Lamb, president and general manager of WDRB-TV in Louisville, was critical in an on-air editorial. "But what is the shelter's new policy to address this problem in the future? From now on, only staff members will be allowed back in the kennel area.

"That's it? No pledge to never fail so miserably again? No discipline for the people responsible for the documented neglect. This is the way the Soviet Union used to operate. A story is reported that casts the authorities in a bad light? Why, just make sure the story can no longer be reported so no one can see what you're doing anymore

"Problem solved." (http://www.wdrb.com/story/15450681/animal-shelter-cover-up-9-13-11)

The editorial gave more people a springboard to launch attacks:

"We need someone in there that does care about the animals."

"Everyone needs answers from the Mayor. What is he hiding?"

"Honestly, it's not political, its not about people, its about the ANIMALS. We don't want them living in dirty situations."

"Mayor Galligan appointed his BEST FRIEND Harry Wilder as the "Director" of Animal Control. His resume? Butcher for 40 years; prison term for racketeering and gambling; ice cream vendor; bookie...AND he's quoted as saying, 'I'm not sentimental about animals, living or dead.' Yes, a FINE choice as Director of Animal Control."

The stupid action of keeping the public out of the kennels and the stupid quotes about butchering and managing only people are out there now. What would you do if you were the mayor and wanted your constituents to support you in the next election? If you were the animal control director, what could you do to demonstrate that you really do care about pets so you can keep your job and not be an embarrassment to the mayor?

Smart people can do really stupid things. If you're not convinced, see the posts below about Judy Green and Outback Steakhouse. One of the challenges of crisis communications is identifying actions to undo errors in judgement. Both Galligan and Wilder could use some crisis communications help right now. Both are guilty of errors in judgement.

Organizational Integrity Comes Before Individual's Stubbornness

I feel a need to write the final chapter in the saga of Metro Councilwoman Judy Green of Louisville, Kentucky, in case you've been following her folly through this blog.

My message all along has been that sometimes it's better for people in the public's spotlight to express regrets, make things right if possible, and resign and/or lay low until time passes and people forgive or forget. If people in crisis continue to hang around and make headlines, they are reminding people of the accusations against them. Then it becomes much harder to forget.

The Metro Ethics Commission recommended unanimously last summer that Green should be removed from office because she intentionally violated four sections of the city's ethics law. She was on trial before metro council this week after five fellow councilpersons petitioned for her expulsion. Last Friday, she finally resigned, but it was too late. The trial went on without her and without her attorney, who walked out on the proceedings.

Twenty metro councilpersons who served as jury voted unanimously yesterday to remove her from office -- the first councilperson removed for ethics violations since the Civil War.

The guilty finding means Green can't run for her seat again until 2014. If she had resigned in a timely way, she could have run in 2012. Realistically, she would have a hard time winning in either event. But by dragging out the process, she forever has associated her name with corruption. She never once offered an explanation of her actions as evidence of her innocence. Her defense was that everyone on council makes even shadier deals, and that her attack was racially motivated.

When a higher-up in your organization faces censure and removal, the integrity of the organization must come first. The accused must realize that, as Green should have done immediately. Instead, she became a liability to the entire council and to her constituents.

Outhouse Steakback's Neurosis Ruins Beautiful Solution to Small Problem, Creates Its Own Crisis

I'm not eating in the right restaurants. It appears some, in the past, have served sample drinks to people waiting for tables. No one ever gave me a free drink. Now, that day has passed, and I'll never get my free drink. Applebee’s, in Madison Heights, Michigan, inadvertently served apple juice and alcohol to a 15-month-old last spring. That was just after a 2-year-old was served alcoholic sangria instead of orange juice at an Olive Garden in Lakeland, Florida.

I never heard about those mess-ups until Outback Steakhouse served alcohol to three children in a restaurant just north of Cincinnati. Corporate people in Tampa turned an ooops into a crisis that went national via the Associated Press. The Mason, Ohio, restaurant owner and the offended families turned the error into a win-win. Then corporate left a bad taste in everyone's mouth. It will be a long time before I go to an Outback again.

Kim Ehrhart of Camden, Michigan, said she specifically asked a young female whether drink samples she was offering contained alcohol, and the young lady assured her they were alcohol-free. It wasn't until they were seated that Erhart tried one of the drinks and tasted alcohol in it. She asked a manager about the contents, which included vodka and schnapps, and was told the drinks did indeed contain alcohol.
The family ate dinner on the house, returned to Michigan, and phoned the owner a couple days later, as the manager had asked. “'He said he couldn’t sleep, he was worried sick about it,' Ehrhart said. 'He seemed like a really nice guy. He said, ‘What can I do for you guys, is there anything I can do?’' Ehrhart asked him to donate to the family’s church food pantry. She said he agreed." (http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20110908/NEWS01/110908006/Outback-served-alcohol-children-Mason-location)

Erhart said she never had plans to sue Outback Steakhouse and still doesn't. But maybe she should. This was a potential crisis that was handled quietly by the restaurant owner to everyone's satisfaction. Then along comes OSI Restaurant Partners, parent company of Outback Steakhouse.

"But then the family was asked to contact the restaurant franchise’s legal department in Florida. That’s where they were told the server had been fired, their meal had been comped, so the company felt there was no need for the donation."

Unbelievably, a PR person and a VP gave a different account of the incident. Mind you, these people were in Florida, not Ohio. How they knew what really happened is something we'll probably never know.

"Stephanie Amberg, vice president of public relations for OSI Restaurant Partners of Tampa, Fla., said in an email that the drinks were handed out by a trained bar server who knew the drinks contained alcohol.

"Ehrhart said people in her party grabbed the samples off of a tray that the server was holding.

"But Joseph Kadow, executive vice president of the restaurant chain, said the server gave samples of specialty cocktails to adults only -- and 'a member of the family then gave the sample to two of their children,' while the server was not present.

Ehrhart’s sister, Kelly Kerwin, 33, of Garden City, Mich., said, 'That’s not how it went down.'"

Amberg claimed the company balked only when Ehrhart requested a second donation to another food pantry. “'However, upon receiving a request for an additional donation to a second church in exchange for not ‘going public,’ we determined we would not follow that path,' she said.

"Ehrhart said she thinks the company misunderstood their request to split its intended donation between her church and her sister’s church. At last word yesterday morning, corporate was saying the Ohio manager is considering a donation as promised.

“'Outback is not trying to cast the Kerwins in a bad light and suspect they did not realize that companies cannot be put in a position of ‘buying silence,’' Amberg’s statement said."

"Buying silence?" That's not how the people who were actually involved described it. “'Our local food pantry is running real low,' she said. 'I just figured everybody wins this way.'"

This is a case of Legal running amok. Everything was fine until some attorney apparently decided that making a donation was admitting liability. The local manager and owner handled the situation appropriately to prevent a crisis. Corporate turned a nothing into a crisis, defined by the Institute for Crisis Management as "A significant business disruption that stimulates extensive news media coverage. The resulting public scrutiny will affect the organization’s normal operations and also could have a political, legal, financial and governmental impact on its business." (http://www.crisisexperts.com/crisisdef_main.htm)

We need to be aware of potential legal liabilities in a wide range of daily business problems, for sure. But those liabilities are softened or obliterated when we "do the right thing." If someone is going to sue, they're going to sue. That doesn't preclude us from, say, making a promised donation to a food pantry. We can't be so hung up on our fear of litigation that we fail to manage a "situation" before it becomes a crisis.

In the Outback example, our reputations are at steak.

Sometimes Retreat Is the Best Way to Handle Personal Crises

We are taught that perseverance is a virtue. What we aren't taught is that sometimes quitting is much better.

That was the unsolicited advice I gave Metro Councilwoman Judy Green of Louisville, Kentucky, in a post here on June 16 (http://crisisexperts.blogspot.com/2011/06/crisis-communicators-must-tell-leaders.html). And no less than four times after that. She should have waved a white flag months ago and saved herself the time and trouble and embarrassment, not to mention the political damage. Leaving office one way or another was inevitable. The inevitable occurred today on the eve of her "impeachment" trial.

The Metro Ethics Commission recommended unanimously Green should be removed from office because she intentionally violated four sections of the city's ethics law. She is accused of a conflict of interest in running the Green Clean Team last summer. This is a valuable initiative that gave jobs to teens for clean-up and beautification projects. However, she has been accused of using her official position "to secure unwarranted privileges for herself or family; paid family members more than others doing the same job; and had personal involvement in the program to the point that it impaired her objectivity."

She also is accused of giving a $7,500 grant to the non-profit 100 Black Men of Louisville, and then making the organization reroute $5,600 of the grant to other agencies at her direction without Metro Council’s knowledge. The Ethics Commission ruled against her on both charges.

I know Judy Green. If only her judgement were as good as her heart. "'I will fight to the bitter end to do what I was elected to do,' she said (in June).... "'I am not going to resign,' she said, emphatically. '7, 600 people elected me and I've done an excellent job of representing those people." (http://www.wave3.com/story/14888404/councilwoman-judy-green-i-am-not-going-to-resign)

She never produced documentation to back her up. Instead, she, her husband, and a handful of supporters claim racism, without explaining why other black council members aren't facing charges. Green skipped the Metro Council meeting last night, choosing to join some 40 supporters and criticize her opponents. “'I”m up there on the cross,' Green told supporters." (http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20110909/NEWS01/309090074/Green-resigns-from-Louisville-Metro-Council?odyssey=tabtopnewstextHome)

Two weeks ago, she requested a two-week extension to her hearing date due to undisclosed health issues. The council said no. Earlier this week, her attorney refused to turn over requested documents because either they were irrelevant or they didn't exist.

As late as last night, she told the media she would never resign. "Never" lasted until 11:48 this morning. Her refusal to resign earlier means Metro Council can't act on her resignation until the next council meeting in two weeks, so she will be dragged through the mud at her hearing next week anyway.

Green made pretty much every mistake in the book. A quiet resignation and a couple years to let things cool and she probably could have resumed her political career. Instead, she leaves office in disgrace and leaves the taxpayers with her legal bills.

Remember people like Green and Anthony Weiner and Brett Favre, for that matter. There is a time when quitting is the most effective way to relieve an impending crisis.

Consortiums Must Be As Ready As Unions To Communicate Through a Crisis

It's a cliche to claim there are two sides to every story. When it comes to media relations, often there are three sides to every story, and sometimes more. There's my side. There's your side. And there's the media side, which, if told fairly, is a combination of mine and yours.

A dispute between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and a grain consortium has led to a crisis and arrests in Washington. But I can only find two sides to this story, which makes it difficult for me to feel much empathy for the consortium. This is what happens if your organization does a poor job telling its side of a crisis story.

The media view goes something like this: "Hundreds of Longshoremen stormed the Port of Longview early Thursday, overpowered and held security guards, damaged railroad cars, and dumped grain that is the center of a labor dispute, said Longview (Washington) Police Chief Jim Duscha.

"Six guards were held hostage for a couple of hours after 500 or more Longshoremen broke down gates about 4:30 a.m. and smashed windows in the guard shack, he said. No one was hurt, and nobody has been arrested. Most of the protesters returned to their union hall after cutting brake lines and spilling grain from (a) car at the EGT terminal, Duscha said.

"The International Longshore and Warehouse Union believes it has the right to work at the facility, but the company has hired a contractor that's staffing a workforce of other union laborers." (http://www.kentucky.com/2011/09/08/1873777/longshoremen-storm-wash-state.html)

So what's the Longshoremen's side of the crisis? "Hundreds of port workers stood on railroad tracks today at 4pm, (before the 4 a.m. raid above), blocking a train carrying grain to a foreign-owned loading facility in Longview, Washington. Workers took action to protest the failure by big grain companies to honor agreements with the local community to provide good jobs in Longview.

“'Everyone came to the tracks on their own free will to stand up for justice and protect good jobs in this community,' said ILWU President Bob McEllrath, who stood with the volunteers on Wednesday afternoon. 'It shouldn’t be a crime to fight for good jobs in America.'

"Police in riot gear charged the group of peaceful protesters, which included women and children, injuring several in the process. When volunteers stood their ground, police retreated and the train was backed-off." (http://www.ilwu.org/?p=2927)

The grain consortium, according to the Longshoremen's site, is EGT – a consortium of companies that includes North America, South Korea-based STX Pan Ocean, and Japan-based Itochu Corporation.

If anyone out there speaks for EGT, please comment to this post. I can't find a website or a comment in any of the news stories, and I want to hear your side. What makes you think you have the right to circumvent the Longshoremen with other workers? I'm seldom an advocate of organized labor, but you're giving me nothing to go on.

As for the police action: Please explain why guards were held hostage, windows were broken, brake lines were cut, and grain was dumped, yet no one was arrested. Nevertheless, "Police from several agencies in southwest Washington, the Washington State Patrol and Burlington Northern Santa Fe responded to the violence to secure the scene." Nineteen were arrested in the earlier track blockade, where there was no property damage.

I'm having trouble sympathizing with anyone in this story, not that anyone in Longview or the ILWU cares. I can only hope stakeholders on all sides are receiving better information than I am through websites.

Companies, including joint ventures, need to be ready for a variety of crises. The first consideration has to be who will take the lead in responding to a crisis and directing the communications: one of the partner companies or a joint venture entity? When there's a pop fly in an all-star baseball game, two players can't stand there and look at each other wondering who should take charge. Instead, decide now who's going to catch the ball when a union protests, a fire hits, or the Susquehanna River floods.

IHOP Responds to Shootings With the Right Messages

IHOP corporate and IHOP Carson City are in a crisis. It's not of their own making and there was little if anything that could have been done to prevent the shooting deaths yesterday. In this kind of crisis, the company and restaurant are victims and, therefore, receivers of the public's sympathy.

However, if your business isn't prepared for this kind of crisis; if it doesn't know how to respond with support to victims' families and the community; and if it doesn't know what to say to the media, public sympathy can turn to impatience and anger.

A look at the IHOP website (http://www.ihop.com/) today drops down a window with an appropriate message. Not only that, but the message was updated since yesterday. I'll save you the trouble of going to the site, because the words used might help you create a needed immediate response if, heaven forbid, something like this incident happened during your watch. The message reads:

"Our hearts ache for all the victims of the senseless act of violence in Carson City. We have representatives on site to offer assistance to those impacted. We are grateful to the public safety officials and first responders, they could not be kinder or more professional. The people of Carson City have also shown incredible support for the victims and IHOP’s team members. We are grateful to all and to the IHOP restaurant team members for their tremendous resolve during this tragedy.

"09/06/2011, 11:49 a.m. (PDT): (less than three hours after the shooting)
Our thoughts are with the victims and families of the senseless shooting at our restaurant in Carson City, NV. Details of this tragic situation are still unfolding and we are waiting to learn more. We have offered our assistance to federal and local law enforcement, and are grateful to the emergency responders assisting on the scene. We will keep you advised as we learn more." (emphasis added)

This sounds like a caring and concerned company, doesn't it? Would you hesitate before entering an IHOP? Do you expect anyone anywhere to suggest boycotting IHOP? These kinds of things can happen to a business that appears cold and uncaring. Remember BP?

The president of IHOP delivered a similarly sympathetic statement this afternoon after she flew to Carson City from her office in Glendale, California. "'Our hearts ache for all the victims of this senseless act of violence,' IHOP Restaurants President Jean Birch (or a ghostwriter) wrote on Facebook after coming to town in the aftermath of the breakfast-time massacre. 'The people of Carson City have also shown incredible support for the victims and IHOP's team members.'" (http://www.cfnews13.com/article/news/ap/september/307978/Guardsmen-killed-in-NV-served-in-Iraq-Afghanistan)

Review your own crisis communications plan to be sure you are prepared with a statement that contains the key messages IHOP's does. Do it today while it's fresh in your mind.

Have You Thought About Flu Lately?

Just when you thought it was safe to play in the barnyard again...

"A new strain of swine flu has shown up in two children in Pennsylvania and Indiana who had direct or indirect contact with pigs. The virus includes a gene from the 2009 pandemic strain that might let it spread more easily than pig viruses normally do. (http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_MED_NEW_FLU?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-09-02-16-08-22)

There isn't evidence (yet) that this flu strain has spread beyond these two children. "The gene from the 2009 pandemic is one of the things that makes this new strain worrisome, said Dr. John Treanor, a flu specialist at the University of Rochester School of Medicine. 'There is some evidence that that gene is particularly important for transmission from person to person,' he said."

The 2009 pandemic was much ado about little -- unless you or someone close to you had it. But this latest news is a reminder that our organizations must be prepared to carry on in the event of a more widespread pandemic, or for that matter, an epidemic. Several schools somewhere close temporarily every winter to stem an outbreak of the seasonal flu. Those kids take the virus home to Mom and Dad -- your employees.

If I wrote it once on this blog, I wrote it 100 times. (Okay, 29 to be exact.) Every organization must have a pandemic plan as part of the overall crisis communications plan. That means more than making hand sanitizer available. For key business decisions to consider, see my post, http://crisisexperts.blogspot.com/2009/05/swine-flu-outbreak-appears-to-be-mild.html .

And it would be wise to have many familiar with your pandemic plan -- or at least with what shelf it's on. You can't afford to have your pandemic expert home with the flu.