Posts Tagged ‘Hurricane Irene’

Outage Outrage

Friday, November 4th, 2011

Where to begin with this one…

I don’t have to tell those who have been powerless for days, that Jersey Central Power & Light is facing a huge crisis. The crisis began in August in the wake of Hurricane Irene and is still ongoing following our freak October blizzard. JCP&L’s public response to the massive outages was almost as disastrous as the disasters themselves. What can we learn from JCP&L’s crisis response?

1. Planning Never Hurts

Any vital service provider based in the Northeast MUST have a contingency plan in place for addressing every  different kind of disaster (natural or manmade) that can be faced. In the three months New Jersey has seen an earthquake, a hurricane and now a blizzard. Hospitals, waste management companies and, as JCP&L is learning, power companies must have a communications plan in place to augment the provision of their services during a time of disaster.

2. Learn From Your Mistakes

No communications plan is perfect. Understand that fact and then fix your plan after you find where imperfections lie.

Or you can take the JCP&L strategy and not change a thing. After facing severe public backlash due to poor customer service, lack of information and slow response time in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene in August, JCP&L handled our October blizzard without fixing any of these areas.

3. Honesty is the Best Policy

If you lie to the public you will get caught. Countless high profile businesses and organizations have found this out the hard way. Lying to the public when they are cold and stuck in the dark, will only mean the backlash will be that much more severe. If you do not know when power is coming back on, don’t pretend like you do. If you are facing issues responding to outages, let the public know. Provide the public with the most accurate information possible and do not make up facts just to hide the truth.

At this point, what can JCP&L do to fix their reputation?

They are going to require severe reputation assistance; a standard Band Aid will not work here. We are talking about a reputation triple bypass surgery. We expect to see some major house-cleaning within JCP&L to inject some fresh blood. Restoring trust should be their number one priority. They need to show the public how they are fixing their communications and disaster response plans. Restoring honesty will go a long way in this crisis. What do you think? Can JCP&L ever regain public trust?

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Posted in Only in New Jersey, Reputation Headlines | No Comments »

Protecting Your Reputation During a Disaster

Wednesday, September 14th, 2011

What happens if you own a business that profits off a disaster? We are not talking about the price gougers and con-men who use disasters for their own selfish gain – there is an entirely different group of people who inadvertently profit from disaster.

Think about the tree removal specialists that were working around the clock in the aftermath Hurricane Irene or the construction crews that are instantly called into action rebuilding homes after a tornado strikes the Midwest. When disaster strikes these businesses must respond by providing a necessary service but they also have to make money to run their business.

Some may call this profiteering or unfair. How can you protect your reputation to make sure that people do not view your business in these ways?

Do Your Job – The old acronym, KISS (Keep it Simple, Stupid) holds very true here. Approach the situation like it is an ordinary day, sticking to what you do best will allow you to focus on the work that needs to be done.

Don’t Jump Up and Down with Joy – We get it, you are making lots of money off of the disaster. No one except for you and your accountant needs to know this. Just carry out your business and behave as if your bottom line is unchanged.

Remember Your Audience – These people just suffered a disaster, some have lost entire homes or in the worst case family members or friends. When they contact your company to remove a tree that just fell on their house, they may be a bit upset. Your customer service staff should be briefed on the proper way to handle these issues. Be respectful and attentive, these two qualities will go a long way in improving your standing during and after the disaster.

Always remember, it is never a good idea to make it seem like you are riding on the backs of those who have lost so much, just to make a profit. With our advice above you can get through these times and come out at the end with your business and reputation intact.

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Posted in Tips from the Evergreen Playbook | 4 Comments »