Shit happens: How businesses can regain trust after a crisis
On July 16, restaurateur Mykhailo Katsurin posted on his social media page... reported informed about the fact that he and 11 other people (at that time) were poisoned in his own Lviv restaurant "Chinese Greetings".
"I was poisoned in my own restaurant in Lviv. And, unfortunately, not only me. As of now, 11 guests have reported symptoms of poisoning to us. The preliminary hypothesis is eggs and egg cream in desserts on July 14 and 15," the post reads.
As of July 18, the number of affected people has risen to 70, including nine children. Lviv Regional Center for Disease Control and Prevention questioned The sick people were interviewed and it was found that all of them had eaten the dessert "Singapore Cheesecake". Currently, the source of infection and transmission factors are being established.
Law enforcement officers started Criminal proceedings under Part 1 of Article 325 of the Criminal Code concern violations of sanitary rules that may cause the spread of infections or poisoning. This article provides for punishment ranging from a fine (from 17,000 to 51,000 UAH) to arrest for six months, or restriction or deprivation of liberty for up to three years.
Mykhailo himself added in his post that he would pay for the treatment of all those affected, dispose of all the products in the restaurant, regardless of the inspection results, and closed the establishment until all the circumstances are clarified.
In the comments under the post, people were divided into two camps: some admired the restaurant owner's honest communication and expressed words of support, while others wrote that this incident would "bury the establishment" and the owner would go bankrupt due to payments of compensation for moral damages.
LIGA.net I spoke with Alen Bobrov, an expert in communications, information operations, and disinformation, and Andriy Turiy, managing partner of the Kyiv law firm "Turiy and Partners," to find out how businesses should act in crisis situations:
- how to communicate properly after unpleasant incidents;
- what threatens the brand if it tries to silence the situation;
- whether it is worth admitting a mistake, even if it may cause financial losses;
- if the institution pays for the treatment, does this relieve it of legal liability;
- whether the victims have grounds to demand moral compensation;
- What is the legal risk for a business to publicly admit its guilt?
- whether there is a "golden mean" that will preserve both the reputation and legal security of the business;
- How to turn a crisis into a reputational advantage.
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