By Jonathan & Erik Bernstein on March 4, 2015
Refusing to respect the wants of customers is a bad business plan Is anyone else disgusted that it’s no longer shocking to see a major telecomms provider standing staunchly against the wants of their customers? Online privacy is one of the fastest-rising influences of consumer decisions today, yet AT&T has gone full scumbag when it […]
By Jonathan & Erik Bernstein on February 26, 2015
Meeting legal obligations doesn’t win you any favors in the court of public opinion Auto recalls have been big news over the past couple years. One of the most serious came as a result of General Motors’ ignition switch issues, which have reportedly caused more 50 deaths over the whopping 11 years the issue went […]
By Jonathan & Erik Bernstein on February 24, 2015
A rare corporate apology done right The Anthem hack, which exposed the personal information of as many as 80 million customers, put the healthcare provider in an ugly situation. Not only were its own computer security team’s credentials stolen and used to access private information, but it was revealed that the data was not encrypted. […]
By Jonathan & Erik Bernstein on February 20, 2015
[Editor’s note: We welcome another insightful guest post from Issue Outcomes’ Tony Jaques as he shares some perspective on the flood of “outrage” we see on a near-daily basis.] Much ado about nothing? Social media has proved a powerful tool for raising legitimate issues onto the public agenda. But it has also facilitated a flood […]
By Jonathan & Erik Bernstein on February 14, 2015
Or rather, lack thereof Comcast, already one of the most hated companies in the world, drew yet more (well-deserved) vitriol early this month after it was revealed that customers were having the names on their accounts changed to things like “a-hole”, “whore”, “dummy”, and “super bitch”, most likely by angry phone reps. The first of […]
By Jonathan & Erik Bernstein on February 7, 2015
Facts to convince anyone dragging their toes on crisis planning It can be tough to convince someone who hasn’t encountered a crisis themselves to spend on preparation. We’ve found sharing facts and figures is one of the best, and thought many of our readers might find the below infographic, from the ODM Group, a useful […]
By Jonathan & Erik Bernstein on January 31, 2015
Learning from the case of the delivery driver and the auto dealership These days, it’s pretty safe to assume you’re always on camera. Whether it’s a cell phone, spy cams that can appear to be just about anything, or, as in this case, a plain old security camera, someone’s watching. When pizza delivery guy Jarrid […]
By Jonathan & Erik Bernstein on January 29, 2015
Predict the problems that come with your promos, or run afoul of your fans You would expect Wired, a magazine focused on the world of tech, to be prepared for a promotional offer to go viral, but the ugly aftermath of a promotion from the UK shows it was anything but. Wired offered new subscribers […]
By Jonathan & Erik Bernstein on January 26, 2015
“I’d probably do it again.” Lance Armstrong’s unabashed lying, and subsequent non-apology, marked his story as one of the biggest falls from grace in sports history. After a series of disastrous media appearances following the United States Anti-Doping Agency’s damning report on his abuse of performance enhancing drugs and other illegal practices meant to boost […]