Golden Corral Shows The Importance Of A Crisis Management Training -

Golden Corral Shows The Importance Of A Crisis Management Training

11 July 2013

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kitchen

Earlier this week saw, once again, the power of social media’s virality in catalyzing a disastrous social crisis as local health authorities are investigating a Golden Corral in Port Orange, FLA.

Reddit user GCwhistleblower released numerous shocking images illustrating the filthy standard in which a Golden Corral (GC) kitchen was kept. This was also backed up with GC worker, Brandon Huber’s viral Youtube video, viewed more than 3.5 million times, demonstrating the restaurant’s storage of uncooked food beside a fly and roach-ridden dumpster during an inspection. Needless to say, a multitude of social customers were left slightly disgruntled and demanding answers.

After getting more than three million views in just three days, Huber has claimed center of attention as the owner of the restaurant, Eric Holm, issued an apologetic and sentimental statement claiming that they were immediately disposed of and “None of these items were served to a single customer”. One should ask however, whether the way in which this crisis was handled was good or bad?

It is always imperative to handle a social crisis in the most careful and effective of manners, or one of the billion social users around the world can cause a misinterpreted to spiral out of control. In an article, 3 Great Tips When Facing A Social Media Crisis, I explain that it is of the utmost importance to face the problem head on and act immediately – staying silent is social suicide!

Although Huber’s video was released on July 1^st, GCwhistleblower’s images, a week later, sparked its virality. Both statements via their Twitter and Facebook accounts were released in a timely manner giving GC’s social timeliness thumbs up from SayItSocial. However the proof will ultimately be in the pudding of how the restaurant chooses deal with the immediate backlash from their critics. Only this will determine the effectiveness of their crisis management.

Recent Facebook reviews of the restaurent included:

Social media continues to grow as the fastest way to reach an extensive audience. This allows users to freely voice their thoughts, opinions and criticisms of whomever they please. It is vital, therefore, for companies to undergo intensive social crisis and escalation training in order to know the ins and outs of how to take the bull by the horns before something like this becomes too overwhelming to handle.

About Leon McLean

Leon McLean is a Project Manager and Trainer at SayItSocial, focusing on digital marketing strategy and project development as well as live, virtual and eLearning training initiatives. Please connect with Leon on... Google +