How 4 Well-Known Companies Recovered From Their Crisis Situations

As challenging as it can be for some companies to manage a crisis, it can be just as difficult for them to put the matter behind them and bounce back as soon as possible.

Recovering from a crisis can be difficult, but not impossible, as demonstrated by these four well-known companies.

Domino’s Pizza

Some crises can strike without warning with others can build and simmer over a period of time.

‘Struggling With A Tarnished Reputation’

"By the mid-2000s, Domino's Pizza was struggling with a tarnished reputation, primarily due to poor product quality and customer service, compounded by a damaging viral scandal in 2009,” Davis Richardson, managing partner of Paradox Public Relations, recalled via email.

The company took bold steps to recover from the simmering crisis.

“Recognizing the need for change, the company launched a bold turnaround, publicly admitting its shortcomings and completely revamping its pizza recipe. It also invested heavily in technology, creating an industry-leading online ordering system and mobile app, and optimizing delivery operations with innovations like real-time tracking and self-driving cars,” Richardson noted.

Transparency

“On the PR side of things, Domino's leaned into this operational overhaul and showed customers inside this transformational overhaul; this meant TV spots tracking the journey, filming different teams at different Domino's locations, etc. The PR campaign was a massive success, and by 2017, Domino’s overtook Pizza Hut as the largest pizza chain in the world, becoming a textbook example of how honesty and innovation can revive a struggling brand,” Richardson explained.

Just as denying the validity of criticism can help stretch out a crisis, embracing and and acting on it can help businesses permanently put the matter behind them

“In PR and crisis [management] in particular, there's a tendency to not accept the premise of criticisms. While this strategy can work in the short-term, if a company actually wants to build a viable brand trusted by customers long-term, they should double down on improving their short-comings,” Richardson pointed out.

JetBlue Airways’ Crisis

‘Humiliated And Mortified’

In 2007, “The founder and chief executive of JetBlue Airways, his voice cracking at times, called himself ‘humiliated and mortified’ by a huge breakdown in the airline’s operations that has dragged on for nearly a week, and promised that in the future JetBlue would pay penalties to customers if they were stranded on a plane for too long,” the New York Times reported.

A crisis can be a tipping point for whether a business survives the situation, or succumbs to it.

JetBlue’s crisis “during an ice storm that stranded passengers for hours was a defining moment for the airline,” Stacey Cohen, an adjunct marketing and public relations professor at Fordham University, recalled in an email interview.

Restoring Trust After A Crisis

Then- CEO David Neeleman “took bold steps to restore trust, introducing JetBlue’s Customer Bill of Rights, which guaranteed compensation for delays and cancellations, demonstrating accountability and prioritizing customers,” Cohen observed.

The company’s actions had short- and long-term impacts.

“This innovative approach mitigated fallout and reinforced JetBlue’s reputation as customer-focused. The company rebounded by improving operations and maintaining open dialogue with passengers,” she concluded.

Gucci

Gucci faced backlash in 2019 over a sweater that was perceived as racially insensitive and resembling blackface, Stephanie Schirru, founder of Dynamically Branded, pointed out.

Offensive To Some

“The black sweater, featuring a roll-up collar that covers the lower face with a wide red lip outline around the mouth, was part of Gucci's Fall Winter 2018 line…But reaction to the sweater, which had retailed for $890, ranged from deep offense to incredulity that it had been deemed acceptable to begin with, even as some defended it,” according to NPR.

Gucci’s Apology

In the aftermath of the backlash, Gucci issued a statement saying that it "deeply apologizes for the offense caused by the wool balaclava jumper…We consider diversity to be a fundamental value to be fully upheld, respected, and at the forefront of every decision we make."

Gucci TrIes To Make Ameds

In addition to the apology, Gucci “implemented concrete steps to rebuild trust, such as launching its Gucci Changemakers North America Initiative, focusing on diversity and inclusion in fashion,” Stephania Schirru, founder of Dynamically Branded, pointed out.

The company funded the project, which helped create other opportunities for students.

“The initiative allocates funds to grassroots organizations that drive positive social change within diverse communities. In addition creative students of color have the opportunity to apply for a grant and mentorship to further their dreams and careers,” she noted.

Chipotle

Chipotle took several steps to recover from the impact of an outbreak of E. coli and norovirus in 2015 in their restaurants.

It began with then-CEO Steve Ells publicly apologizing for the incident.

“The fact that Ells—not a lieutenant—was the calm and empathetic voice of the company at that crucial time projected a sense of control and accountability, which customers expect at a minimum when public health is at risk,” T.J. Winick, the principal at Essex Strategies, a public relations firm that specializes in strategic and crisis communications, observed in an email interview.

Next, the company revamped its food safety procedures and policies.

“By overhauling its safety protocols and sharing those changes publicly, Chipotle demonstrated that they were addressing the root cause of the crisis. This reassures stakeholders that a brand is laser focused on preventing a similar event in the future. While promotions like free burritos were successful in luring customers back, commitment to long-term solutions was evidence that leadership was prioritizing resilience and sustained progress,” Winick pointed out.

Chipotle took the unusual and headline-making steps to temporarily close all of their restaurants.

“Closing their locations nationwide for a day…for food safety training was as visible and significant a step that Chipotle could take to prove that they prioritized their customer's health and wellbeing above all else,” Winick concluded.

Crisis Recovery Plans

Domino’s Pizza, JetBlue, Gucci, and Chipotle demonstrated that what companies and organizations do to recover from a crisis is just important as their efforts to address the crisis.

Business leaders and their staffs should check their corporate crisis management plans to ensure that in addition to having crisis management plans, that they have plans to recover from a crisis.

The plans will depend on the nature of the crisis, what needs to be done to end the crisis, and the steps that are necessary to bounce back from it,

But don’t stop there. Create crisis recovery scenarios for when the plans are tested, and see how well crisis management teams can plot rapid recoveries from the situations.