As many of you avid internet video viewers may already know, a video has circulated the web the last week showing 2 Domino's employees doing various disgusting things to food. The video seems to portray that the employees then intend to serve this food to customers.
Now if any of you have worked in food services, as I have, you know that things get stressful and that you sometimes do stupid things to pass the time. But, hopefully, we can all agree that we would never tamper with the food we are serving to customers as a way to blow off some steam. As you can see in this video, the 2 employees were eventually identified and fired. Furthermore, it seems that they could also be looking at jail time.
In response to the disgusting Domino's duo, Patrick Doyle, President of Domino's USA, released a video response to the issue. This video response, while upfront and adequate, lacks sincerity. Media Training 101: Look at the camera when making a public statement and DON'T READ OFF CUE CARDS. If you absolutely need a teleprompter, place it so you can be looking at the camera at the same time. If you are the President of a major company, you should be able to handle this.
Domino's took an interesting route when it came to responding to this crisis. Traditionally, a press release would have been issued immediately to the media and a press conference would've been held. Instead, the problem, which was created in the realm of social media, was essentially resolved in social media. The President of the company posted a video response on YouTube and addressed all customer questions and concerns on a Twitter page. The official statement of Domino's was posted on their company website.
While many criticize Domino's for waiting 48 hours from when the video first surfaced, can you blame them? The Internet is unpredicable and it's very possible that this video could've become lost in the shuffle. Sadly for Domino's, it did not. Therefore, it was forced to address the stupidity of 2 employees.
Domino's had to quickly throw together a social media plan that included Twitter. The Twitter page they actually used was one used by a franchise owner. Presence in social media is essential in today's world and should be created long before a crisis requires it. However, while Domino's utilized social media, the video response from Doyle was not aired on television. Since the story broke in national news on television and not just the internet, it would behoove them to at least send the video reponse to media outlets.
Some pizza chains are already taking social media seriously. Check out this job listing in the NY Times for a Twintern for Pizza Hut
A recent poll showed that 65% of those polled were reconsidering ordering from Domino's again. Are you among them? While I'm not one to chastize an entire company for the actions of just two employees at the bottom of the totem pole, I think that I will be sticking to Giordano's for a while. Snot on the side, please?
1 comments:
This video is definitely going to hurt Domino's reputation. Who knows for how long, but they need to do something big to get their reputation back up.
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