Last class we discussed the proper way a company should handle a crisis. There were certain companies that have had some bad press, and maybe this could have been avoided if they were prepared. For instance, Toyota recently had a major crisis where in certain car models their pedal was getting stuck. There was a recall, but it was not soon enough because the press took a field day with the problem. Their apology was not sympathetic and it did not seem genuine, which also could have been a factor to bad press.
Another company that had some bad press was Nestle. It was found out that Nestle is "destroying" the rain forest for palm oil. The organization of Green Peace even posted their rendition of a Kit-Kat commercial, where the Kit-Kat is an orang-utan's finger.
Here is the video that Green Peace Posted:
Nestle however did not come out with any official statement. People on Facebook even became fans of the Nestle page just so they could write horrible comments to the company. They eventually took down the comments. I personally think that they should have made a video of an apology, and also comment saying they have many projects where they are actually helping the world, not hurting it.
All these companies that failed in alerting the community could have done several things. First they need to have a speech prepared. They need someone to talk to the public who is informed and someone who is believable. They also need to use every media outlet that they can, so the people know what the problem is as soon as possible. That way the people can know the truth, and not what the media makes of it.
It is very important to have a plan when dealing with any crisis. It can save a lot of bad backlash, and possibly any loss of business.
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