“Bad Stock”
My friend and I were watching a soccer game at our favorite local watering hole the other day and witnessed first hand some horrible reputation management. We were perched at the bar drinking Bud Light bottles (we’ve learned from experience that ordering drafts at this place is a lot like gambling). When we ordered our second round, the bartender looked to the other end of the bar and informed a heavy-set middle-aged gentleman that they were running out of Bud Light.
“Should I get more sent over?” she inquired. “No, lets get rid of all the bad stock,” says the middle-aged heavy-set dude.
At this point I have realized a couple things. One. This guy owns the place. Two. He feels that the beverages he just witnessed me purchase from his establishment were of poor quality. Three. This guy is a public relations nightmare for his own business.
Being the slick, witty young super-star that I am, I immediately turned my head and my bottle of Bud Light towards the man (so that the label was pointed his direction) and said “Hopefully the stock isn’t too bad, chief.”
Presented with a perfect opportunity to do some damage control and smooth over relations with his customer the owner actually has the audacity to say, “Don’t worry, I’ve drank six and I’m not dead yet.”
Really? So you’re in charge here and you’ve had six beers already (it was 6:30pm) and the only thing you can say in defense of your overpriced, low-quality product is that it’s not lethal in moderately high doses?
Later in the evening, the bartender did some crisis management. She apologized for her boss’s remarks and gave us a round on the house.
While this anecdote was about an interaction with a very small business occurring offline, we see these types of situations in all sort of settings both on and offline and often don’t even realize it.
If you update your Facebook status to say “you’re really hating your job right now.” What does that say about your company? What if the Marlboro Man smoked Camel Lights? What would that say about cowboy killers?
What I’m saying here is that publicity, marketing, branding and corporate image aren’t just fancy buzzwords that need to be addressed tactically between 9-5.
YOU are an extension of your brand. In a day and age when technology and social media give us the ability to have our voices heard on a massive scale, being a good spokesman for your company can be a very powerful marketing tool.
Whenever you are interacting in a public setting, whether its a bar, a café, a blog or an internet chat-room; always make sure to say positive things when talking about the products and services your company offers its clients. If you don’t, I may blog about you.
DC
Funny AND True !