How FedEx used sincerity to steer away from a social media crisis
Over Christmas, a story broke out about a FedEx delivery man’s disregard for fragile packages, when a disgruntled customer posted the video below on YouTube.
Yes, you saw right. He just threw a computer monitor box over a gate. Obviously this would be the first choice of action from anyone – it’s right up there, before ringing the doorbell or actually opening the gate...
When this CCTV footage racked up 5 million views in the space of five days, it turned a customer service issue into PR crisis.
So how did FedEx respond to the rapidly rising popularity of the unfavourable video? The company created their own video and uploaded it the same video sharing site.
Matthew Thornton, III, senior VP of FedEx Express U.S. Operations, made an earnest apology, saying he was ‘upset, embarrassed and very sorry for [the] customer’s poor experience’.
The video received positive comments from both customers and employees.
It provides a case study for how companies should treat their customers, with respect. And when social media is involved, use it to your advantage.
FedEx admitted to their mistake, apologised for it and then outlined how this will affect their service in the future. It would seem, in this instance, that honesty is the best policy.
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