Nearly 30 years ago, while volunteering as a driver for the Kennedy Center Honors, I made an enormous mistake. I dropped off television director Don Mischer and his camera crew at the wrong gate to the White House, forcing them to run around the block, heavy equipment in tow, to get into the White House to film President and Mrs. Reagan, and still have time to get back to the Kennedy Center for the rest of the show.
Last week the Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell backed away from a controversial abortion bill that only a week before seemed to be gathering steam. The bill would have called for an invasive ultrasound to be performed before any abortion could occur. What started out as a debate about limiting the access to abortion and fetal rights within a week became a discussion of government intrusion.
Why is it that people cannot say what they really mean? Take, for example, the HR representative who says, “We’ll keep your resume on file,” when they don’t plan to consider you at all; or the reporter who responds to a pitch by saying, “thanks, I’ll keep it in mind,” when what she plans to do with the email is hit delete. In this age of uncivil conversation, this may be one of the most uncivil conversations there is.
There is not much I can say more about the Susan G. Komen Foundation debacle that hasn’t already been said. They stepped in it and were unprepared for the push back and fall out. But at the core of this mess is that Komen lost sight of what they were all about. And that was why there was such an outcry. In the Twitter and Facebook age, that outcry was immediate and fast, causing a public relations firestorm so hot that Komen had to reverse its decision about withdrawing funds from breast screenings at Planned Parenthood, so as not to be consumed by it.
Not long ago, the daughter of a friend asked me what she should major in for a career in PR. Without a moment’s hesitation, I said it doesn’t matter as long as you know how to think and how to write. If you can do those two things, you’ll be successful in public relations or for that matter in almost any career.
Many clients ask why positive news about their organization or company doesn’t seem to get much attention. The answer is simple. In public relations, message development, and elsewhere, negativity is more memorable. And that’s why we are seeing so much of it in this political season.
An advertisement on the Washington, DC, Metro stated boldly: “Happiness is being able to order food without having to talk to anyone.” If happiness is about further limiting one’s contact with other humans, even for simple transactions, it spells trouble.
A few weeks ago, this blog highlighted some terrific customer service experiences, a rarity these days. Rudeness, inefficiency and callousness seem to be the norm in the relationships between companies and the people who buy and use their products and services. One of the places where customer service can be particularly bad is the doctor’s office and medical facilities where one would expect it to be otherwise.
Many companies have finally realized that customer service matters. After all, competing on price alone will only take you so far. In this age of press 1 for an automated voice that reads out another list of menu items that don’t match your situation, getting a pleasant and helpful person on the other end of the phone or in the store can make all the difference in brand loyalty. And when your product isn’t really all that different from your competitors, you win by making customers happy.
Today I got a notice that the bill for the second-semester tuition for my daughter at Penn State is due. As I read that email, I was reminded of what a colossal failure and tragedy this scandal is on so many levels, least of which is how the university is managing any form of crisis communications with key constituents such as parents, donors, alums and the students themselves.