"This is Ann Marie Murphy of (fill in name of your local newspaper) - I write the ‘Ask Ann Marie' consumer advocate column and I have a few questions for you."
Ann Marie has been putting local organizations – businesses (both big and small), hospitals, banks, utilities, etc. – through the wringer for the past eight years. People who have a complaint about an organization give her their side of a story about some interaction that didn't go their way. She's the last person you want calling you.
Ann Marie investigates and then uses the power of the written word, which goes into thousands of area homes, to portray the company in a negative light. In any such David vs. Goliath story, odds are that the little guy will have the sympathy of the news media and the public against the organization you represent.
The impact on your business could be major in terms of a loss of customers and income/profits. Or it could be the more subtle damage done to your reputation, only noticeable in the long-term. Your organization might not continue to grow at the rate you'd been expecting. When you or one of your employees tells someone where you work, a certain look comes over their face while they search around in their mind for the specifics of something bad they read about your organization.
It's all very distressing and potentially seriously damaging.
Can anything be done about it? You sure have to try!
One Client's Experience
Many years ago, three members of a local consumer products/service business attended a two-hour crisis seminar I did for the county's Chamber of Commerce. Last January, when the service manager of that company got a phone call from "Ask Ann Marie," he instantly realized this could be big trouble. He told the reporter he would have to research the two complaints that were being raised and get back to her. He then quickly notified the president. The president called me – while I was happily vacationing in Florida!
His initial thought was to just have the service manager get back to the reporter with a written statement. In it, he would briefly tell her these were two disgruntled customers trying to use pressure from the media to press their demands. However, the president recognized that this was quite similar to saying "No comment." He remembered I had warned the seminar participants about the dangers of this response. So he asked me if there were a better way to handle it.
We talked about the two instances that had spawned the complaints. In both cases, it seemed -- both to him and to me -- the company was on solid ground. The news that the company representatives had had to give to the customers was not welcome – it was going to be costly to do what needed to be done. The prices of this particular company have traditionally been on the high side of average, but this was a conscious decision they felt was warranted because of their ability to provide quick and high quality service.
I frequently emphasize that "Organizations have to first DO the right thing before they can SAY the right thing." If you don't have a good story to tell, no wordsmith or public relations guru is going to be able to make it sound good.
Once it was decided that the company had nothing to be ashamed of, we set about figuring out how to convince the reporter that this was not a company that deserved to be skewered in her column. First, we worked out a solid written statement, emphasizing the long history and good reputation the company has enjoyed for many years. It highlighted some actual customer satisfaction ratings. It even addressed – head-on – the issue we knew would come up about their high prices. (A wise strategy is often to proactively acknowledge what you know will be used against you and provide an explanation before-hand.)
We ended the written statement with a bold move, inviting the reporter to call with any questions. The president was a bit apprehensive about this. That's understandable. Nobody relishes this kind of conversation. But it is very important to not duck and hide – it makes you look guilty. By going over all of the information we had and by preparing the written statement, he felt competent to deal with verbal questions. We talked about how he would steer clear of any comments that could be construed as "bashing" the customers, even though they had been very unreasonable. He would stick to the high ground and talk about the positives of his company's standards of doing business and their history of providing excellent customer support.
The statement was faxed. The reporter did call with some follow-up questions. Since we'd thought about what these questions were likely to be and rehearsed the answers, it went well.
Still, we waited anxiously to see what the next day's newspaper would bring. Had we convinced the reporter that there really was no wrongdoing here? Was she persuaded there was nothing which warranted an alert to other area residents that this was not a responsible company?
As days and weeks -- and now months-- have gone by with no mention of this company in her column, we feel confident that our efforts were successful. No news is good news, in this case!
One thing I know for sure: Had we not responded as fully and cooperatively as we did, it is likely that this consumer advocate would have assumed the company was guilty of something and felt compelled to defend the little guy. Just what the resulting damage would have been is not definite – but it's something this particular businessman is glad he never had to deal with!
© 2006 Helen Wilkie All Rights Reserved. You may reprint this article for your online or print publication so long as you include the complete article and the following paragraph:
Helen Wilkie is a professional speaker, consultant and author who helps companies do better business through better communication. Her latest book is "The Hidden Profit Center". To received free monthly tips and techniques on communication, visit http://www.mhwcom.com or http://www.HiddenProfitCenter.com and sign up for "Communi-keys". Reach Helen Wilkie at 416-966-5023 or hwilkie@mhwcom.com 
