Data Disasters

Jonathan Bernstein crisis management, Crisis Response, reputation management

Retailer TJ Maxx holds the dubious honor of having the largest data theft ever, with over 45 million credit and debit card numbers stolen from their IT systems back in 2007. Crisis management experts know that data breaches can be one of the most devastating types of crises to deal …

Food Gatherers

Jonathan Bernstein crisis management, Crisis Prevention, Crisis Response

Food Gatherers, a food rescue and distribution group, supplies food to subsidize the poor and jobless throughout Washtenaw County, Michigan. They supply food to 150 different organizations which provide over 7,000 meals a day to local families, all through the generosity of a meager 300 donors. Now, as you can …

Ba-Da Bing!

Jonathan Bernstein crisis communications, crisis management, public relations

Whether your business is crisis management or something else, a search engine is probably your most frequently visited site. The latest entry to the market is Bing, brought to you by a name few would have difficulty recognizing, Microsoft. Touted not only as a search engine but also a “decision …

Rover Revenge

Jonathan Bernstein crisis communications, crisis management, public relations

Range Rover has marketed themselves as the ultimate in SUV’s, and with a price tag that would make most people’s blood pressure skyrocket they should be backing that claim up 100%. Judging from a UK Telegraph article published today, it appears one of their dealerships hasn’t been making customer satisfaction …

The Travel Bug

Jonathan Bernstein crisis communications, crisis management, Crisis Prevention

As the H1N1 swine flu rapidly spreads from nation to nation, many companies are taking advanced measures to prevent further spread. One major concern is business travel. Many crisis management plans call for employees’ travel to be tracked, as an interview from this New York Times web article states. “So …

Guard Your Reputation

Jonathan Bernstein crisis management, public relations, reputation management

Your reputation means everything. A positive one can drive your business, bringing new customers and positive press. Get a bad rap though, even an unwarranted one, and you may soon find yourself in full crisis management mode, struggling to take back control. The average user who searches your company name …

OOPS!

Jonathan Bernstein crisis communications, crisis management, Crisis Response

Social media startup iMindi, a new type of blog service built to act as a “Thought Engine,” faltered in its first steps into the public eye Monday, accidentally deleting 1,000 accounts belonging to beta users of the site. TechCrunch.com explains: On Monday we wrote about iMindi, a new startup that …

Korean Crisis

Jonathan Bernstein crisis communications, crisis management, Crisis Response

As far as crisis management jobs go, the task of coming up with crisis response plans to counter a nuclear strike is about as intense as it gets. This is exactly what a new team formed by the South Korean government has been assigned to do in reaction to yet …

Muzzled Bloggers

Jonathan Bernstein crisis communications, crisis management, public relations

“Bloggers are increasingly getting sued or threatened with legal action for everything from defamation to invasion of privacy to copyright infringement. In 2007 — the most recent data available — 106 civil lawsuits against bloggers and others in social networks and online forums were tallied by the Citizen Media Law …

A Healthy Dose of Fear

Jonathan Bernstein crisis communications, crisis management, Crisis Prevention

If you’re even remotely involved in crisis management, then a couple weeks ago your desk was flooded with H1N1 flu warnings and preparations. The aim of many communicators was to prevent panic, and they were quite effective. Judith Analco of consulting firm EnviroKey says that may be a problem. In …

Reputation Remorse

Jonathan Bernstein crisis communications, crisis management, reputation management

We’ve seen many public figures in dire need of reputation management, from Hollywood starlets to Wall Street Bankers and sports superstars. The fastest way to get past these problems is to first accept responsibility and apologize, then demonstrate to the public that you have changed your ways. Of course, they …

Put Down the Shovel

Jonathan Bernstein crisis management, reputation management

Yesterday we talked about one of the crucial ingredients to successful reputation management, transparency. Today I’d like to take a look at another important aspect – customer service. This time, though, our story is an example of what not to do from Boston-based computer-repair service Geek Choice (no affiliation with …