Asda employees’ authentic crisis response
September 17th, 2009 by Jon ClementsWhat do you do when a peeved employee or - in this case - former employee goes haywire on your premises and makes it public?
And how can your employees offer a meaningful voice at a time of crisis?
These were the questions facing Asda yesterday, when an ex-staff member at its Fulwood, Preston store went on a clandestine, night-time rampage - and then shared his antics via video film.
Adeel Ayub certainly succeeded in making himself look moronic with a trail of random destruction at his former place of work. But grabbing media attention presented a different challenge to Asda’s communications team.
Dominic Burch, head of corporate comms and new media, was clear about the risks this unfortunate incident posed:
“There was a chance people would think this was still happening in that store or that we’d turned a blind eye at the time it happened.
“But once we’d seen it, we were quick to say how disgusted we were and then worked fast to find out who the person was and whether he was still part of the business. Colleagues at the store, aware of the vandalism from the first incident, were glad the perpetrator was now out in the open.”
And it was the wish of the store manager to express her and her colleagues’ feelings about Ayub’s actions that prompted the comms team to come up with the idea of filming a personal video message, later to be uploaded to YouTube (see top of post).
Burch adds: “The manager simply asked a few colleagues on the night shift to respond to the video in their own words. The resulting clips were posted on YouTube unedited.”
In the video, the shared bemusement and dismay among the staff about why a former colleague would behave like that has an authenticity and real, unembellished quality; something that says more about the impact on them and their loyalty to the store than any official, corporate statement could.
As they are the people who work in the store and live in the area, who better to reassure the local Asda customer that unpleasant things have happened, but it’s business as usual now?
Tags: , Asda, Asda video, Dominic Burch, Fulwood, Preston, YouTube
September 17th, 2009 at 9:31 am
Well put Jon, Asda have shown a level of understanding rarely seen by the big companies when faced with such a PR dilemma. I think the fact they acted so quickly has saved them a ton of hassle, and the video response was a great idea.
September 17th, 2009 at 10:39 am
Michael
Thanks for your comment.
Agreed - Asda did a good job with this one and responded with a creative approach. It’s rare that a communications solution allows the view from the front line - ie, employees - to come through. Though they may not be slick presenters of a pre-agreed message, their feelings about the incident said much more.
September 18th, 2009 at 11:26 am
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September 19th, 2009 at 9:19 am
The original video is totally shocking and sickening. I think this response by Asda’s communications team, store manager and particularly store employees is credible, viable and totally appropriate.
October 8th, 2009 at 10:02 am
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