Franchise Update Magazine Issue II, 2012 | Page 27

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ing a crisis management team in place
at corporate to be sure every aspect of
the plan is implemented, updated, and
ready for action.
What he doesn’t want a client to think,
he says, is “Call the PR guy and he’ll
spin it.” Instead, call the PR guy as part
of the crisis management plan. And,
depending on the situation, also call
your lawyer.
“You want to have a plan in place so
if you can’t avert the disaster you can at
least hit the ground running,” says Adam
Siegelheim, an attorney with Stark &
Stark, a law firm based in Lawrenceville, N.J. “When everyone knows what
to do, you can minimize the damage.”
The lawyer’s job, he says, is to anticipate any kind of scenario and the level
of risk involved.
So is PR’s, says Fisher. “Look at the
most likely crisis scenario and the most
outlandish scenario and be prepared for
anything,” he says. “It’s worth it. Have
the plan ready.”
Fisher also recommends establishing
different levels for crises, and having a
plan for each. For example, level 1 might
be a cash shortage at a register, and level
4 a murder at a franchisee’s site. “You
should have a protocol for each level,
including who is involved,” he says. And
any protocol or manual should have a
section on how to deal with the media
during a crisis—from a phone call to a
walk-in with a camera—and what to say
and what not to.
After all that is in place, he says, the
next stage is to conduct a training with
every person along that chain. That
training can take place through the usual
channels: field support staff, conventions, POS systems, online, etc.—but it
has to happen, and it has to cover every
employee potentially on the firing line
if a crisis occurs. “Training is key here.
None of this works if no one’s been
trained,” says Fisher.
Managing the situation

Although managing public perception
to protect your brand’s reputation is a
critical part of damage control, deal-

“From the top
of the food chain
to the bottom
of the food chain,
what control
do you have
hiring $9 an hour
kids?”
—Rhonda Sanderson

ripple effects may result.”
This late-night scenario is more likely
today than in the past, with restaurants
open into the wee hours and around the
clock, as well as the increased time zone
differences as regional brands go nationwide and global. Beijing, for example, is
12 hours different from Boston, Louisville, or Florida. And with the Internet,
anybody can post anything anytime they
want. That’s why, says Siegelheim, if a
crisis situation arises, “It should be very
clear how to reach everybody.”

Grow Market Lead

damage

Communicating your message

ing with the actual situation could save
lives, or at least lawsuits and lost sales.
PR also plays a role here. In addition
to creating a plan and protocol for his
franchise clients, Fisher helps by addressing specific scenarios of potential
PR disasters.
For example, a food-borne illness is
linked to one of the brand’s restaurants.
It’s crucial not only to have policies in
place for communication, but also to
have processes in place to account for
anything and everything that occurred.
“You have to do your detailed research
to find out what really happened,” says
Fishman.
If a potential crisis occurs late at night
or halfway across the world, should you
get top executives out of bed? “If something happened, in most cases the answer
is yes, the CEO gets woken at 3 a.m.,”
says Siegelheim. “What we’re trying to
do is contain the incident and whatever

“There could be potential legal consequences as well, so you want to control
your communications,” says Siegelheim.
“From top to bottom, everyone should
be aware who’s going to speak.” And
above all, don’t panic.
Before responding publicly, take a
deep breath and assemble your team.
“You have to look at the situation and
analyze it,” says Siegelheim. Is it isolated to one franchisee? Could it affect
the entire system? If a customer claims
to have to have gotten sick from food
in one of your restaurants, is it the only
complaint over some time? If so, he suggests, “You say it’s an isolated incident at
an independently owned and operated
restaurant, and customers should have
no concerns over the entire system.”
“You have to be prepared for any crisis,” says Fishman. That includes having
a central person responsible for coordinating any public response. “We’ve
had to deal with situations where there
were robberies,” he said, even murders.
When a situation arises, the first phone
call should be from the franchisee to
corporate. Then, says Fishman, “Call in
the experts who can help you. We craft
these messages all the time.” Legal, he
says, “should definitely be involved.”
Training and follow-through

After formulating a plan, establishing a
protocol, and training the top-level responders, the challenge for the franchisor is communicating that throughout
the organization intact. By the time all

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