Rule Number One

In a week when major retailers have been accused of being slow to respond to the ongoing horse meat scandal it was a pleasant surprise to receive a personal email from the group chief executive of the Co-op.


It’s entitled An Apology from Peter Marks.

He’s been well advised.

Rule Number One: When the …. hits the fan apologise - say you’re sorry.

And I quote:

“I believe that as a result of this food scandal we have let you down….I strongly believe that all food retailers must accept ultimate accountability for the products we sell to our customers. We cannot blame the government or the regulators, or even our own suppliers. At the end of the day, the buck stops here.”

In contrast, in an interview last week, Tesco boss Philip Clarke sidestepped Rule Number One and chose instead to focus on the importance of the trust that we, the customers, place in retailers.

And he made not just one but three promises, including the development of a new ‘field to fork’ website which I have to say sounds like a ratings winner. Come children, gather round it’s time for Buttercup’s Bolognaise Journey followed by Breakfast with Babe.  Not sure I really want to watch The Silencing of the Lambs though.

Other than that Mr Tesco promised that they’ll try harder and make sure we’re not out of pocket (although they’ve already been accused of increasing the prices of meat-free meals).

Asda boss Andy Clarke has also finally spoken, vowing to leave no stone unturned in order to get to the bottom of the scandal, while Iceland boss Malcolm Walker has described the whole episode as a ‘storm in a teacup’.

Although Waitrose appears to have sidestepped the horse-meat scandal it has admitted finding traces of pork in its ‘beef’ burgers. (Meanwhile Morrison’s (we own our own farms) is reporting a 50% rise in sales of fresh burgers.)

Anyway, from what I can see only Peter Marks has actually said ‘sorry’. Rule number one boys, rule number one.

Flying with the Dinosaurs

Go on have a bet – who do you think is more likely to embrace social media, Ryanair or Delia?

Well, if you said Ryanair then you’d be wrong!

In the week that Delia has announced she’s turned her back on the BBC in favour of launching her own online cookery school, PR Week reports that Ryanair has ‘dismissed the value of social media engagement’.

The new head of comms at Ryanair is quoted as saying that while other airlines have tapped into social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook, the sites ‘would not be helpful to us, as we would have so many people looking for a response.’

Referring to the social network as a ‘two way tool’ Robin Kiely said that maintaining a dedicated account would probably mean hiring two more people just to sit on Facebook all day..adding that if customers wanted to get in touch the methods were there (i.e. customer care lines).

Oh dear, oh dear.

What’s wrong with having a two way relationship with your customers Ryanair? Or is the prospect of customers being able to easily get in touch and openly share opinions simply too frightening for words?

Shame on you.

Yes, us no-frills passengers understand that low fares come at a price - remote airports, very early/late departures, extremely strict rules and not so much as a free peanut.

But it’s outrageous that is this day and age a huge company like Ryanair has adopted such a head-in-the-sand stance. And I’ll bet that getting through on Ryanair’s helpline takes longer than it does to get through security at Stansted in the peak of the hen party season.

Or is this all simply another ruse to gain publicity for Ryanair (remember those plans to charge for spending a penny mid-air)?