“Mail your packages early so the post office can lose them in time for Christmas.”
— Johnny Carson
While Johnny Carson was certainly having some fun at our mail carriers’ expense, there’s no denying that the holiday season brings plentiful opportunities for organizations of all shapes and sizes to make folks upset. Stress is high, money is tight, and the battle to make an impact on the minds of important audiences can easily stray into areas where you risk a sudden outbreak of outrage. 
We’ve already seen issues for brands like Hallmark and Peloton, and with the holidays fully upon us I wouldn’t be surprised to hear about a few more before the new year rolls in.
While these big, flashy crises catch headlines, those of you in the trenches of operations won’t find it hard to believe that there are thousands of mini-crises barely staying under wraps this year. Supply chain disruptions, HR issues, and increased opportunity for negative online interactions are a few of the common-yet-dangerous problems many organizations are likely facing right now. The chances of receiving harmful negative reviews, for example, are often higher during a holiday season due to both the pressure shoppers face and the difficulties retailers or service providers must cope with in delivering the same quality service at a higher volume than normal. Our own Jonathan Bernstein shared a post on this exact topic just this past week with “The Top 5 Crises-Causing Mistakes in Customer Service”, which delves into a real-life minor customer service issue that was nearly escalated into lasting reputation damage for the company involved due to a simple lack of customer care.
Thank you all for reading, happy holidays, and we’ll see you in 2020!
Erik Bernstein
erik@bernsteincrisismanagement.com
Looking to boost your crisis management expertise? We’re currently offering a free preview of our new e-Learning course on Crisis Management Best Practices.