Not all publicity is good publicity. A Burger King restaurant in Lincoln, Nebraska found itself the center of unwanted national attention recently when all of its employees resigned, proclaiming on the sign outside the eatery that, “We all quit. Sorry for the inconvenience.”
According to the Washington Post, “The candid note…was the employees’ way of expressing in no uncertain terms that they had had enough—enough of management, enough of understaffing and enough of the scorching-hot kitchen that at one point allegedly hospitalized a worker with dehydration.”
Burger King did not immediately respond to a request to comment for this article.
Not The First Time
Business Insider/Australia reported that so-called rage-quitting “is as old as work itself. Some people prefer to end things with a bang, not a whimper. So things like bridge-burning, walking off sans a two weeks’ notice, or even making a scene are nothing new when leaving a workplace. But the American workforce seems to be primed for rage-quitting at the moment—especially hourly workers in low-wage occupations like retail, which make up a giant portion of the workforce. In fact, hourly workers made up 58.1% of the U.S. workforce in 2019, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“Recently, multiple Dollar General employees at a store in Maine walked off the job after posting notes decrying the company’s work culture and pay. Similar incidents have occurred at Chipotle, Hardee’s, and Wendy’s around the country. Meanwhile, employers are complaining of a tight labor market, in some cases accusing unemployment benefits of luring potential workers away.”
Advice For Business Leaders
There are eight important steps corporate executives can take when they find that their companies and organizations are, for whatever reason, in the harsh glare of the public spotlight.
Tell Your Side Of The Story
A spokesperson for Burger King, told NBC’s “Today” show that, “The work experience described at this location is not in line with our brand values.” The restaurant’s franchisee is investigating the situation to prevent similar incidents, the spokesperson added, as the Washington Post reported.
Use All Communication Tools At Your Disposal
In telling your side of the story, use all communication methods available to reach all of your stakeholders and other audiences. Burger King did not appear to do that in this case—they made no mention of the incident on the press page of their website which does not appear to have been updated in more than three years.
Respond To Press Inquiries
Immediately respond to all requests for information or comments from legitimate news organizations and news outlets that are followed by your stakeholders and other audiences. In their story, the Washington Post noted that, “A spokesperson for Burger King...did not respond to a request for comment.”
Don’t Wait
Ellen Hudson O'Brien is the founder and chief strategist of Hudsons Media. “Walk the walk, and walk fast,” she advised. “Consumers are tired of corporate lip-service. They want to know what you're doing to solve the problem. Saying that you're ‘looking into it’ isn't enough. Include actionable steps like closing stores to hold employee focus groups and reevaluating wage structures so that your customers know you're serious about making necessary changes.”
Speak From Experience
O’Brien said to, “Build your bench of spokespeople prior to a crisis, and look for leaders in your organization who can relate to your customers. If your spokesperson can't speak from experience, your message may ring hollow. (If Burger King had an executive spokesperson [who] could reference their own experience as a line cook, their response would seem much more sincere.)
Be Careful What You Say
She said, “Remember that anything communicated to your employees can and most likely will leak outside your organization. If you wouldn't want to see it in a headline, don't include it in an email to your staff.”
Apologize
Brendan Griffith is a senior vice president at Reputation Partners, a national strategic communications firm, recommended extending an apology to those who are negatively impacted by the situation. “Everyone is entitled to their own opinions and how someone feels is how they feel. If your organization has negatively impacted or offended a group, directly and genuinely apologize and express how you unknowingly struck a chord with this specific audience.”
Create A Dialogue And Platform
Griffith observed that, “While what’s done is done, your organization should use this as an opportunity to engage the group in a dialogue to learn…about this experience and create a collaborative platform to voice learnings and outcomes to the public.”
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What To Do When Your Company Gets Unwanted Publicity - Forbes
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