Warning: The catering industry is facing an industry-wide crisis.
Before the storm of the Romance of Shu, crises in the catering industry occurred one after another, such as "Sudan Red" incident in KFC, "Poisoned Pickled Vegetables" incident in Sichuan, "Hot Pot Bottom Material" incident in Chongqing, "French fries crisis" incident in McDonald's, and the incident of soaking beef veneers in formalin in a black-hearted hot pot restaurant. The catering industry in China is really hot and noisy, which makes enterprises anxious, the media anxious and consumers chilling. People all over the country are worried and scold these people for being heartless.
In fact, in addition to the above-mentioned major crises that have aroused widespread concern, the catering industry is more of a minor crisis. For example, at noon one day many years ago, my colleagues and I went to a small restaurant for dinner. My colleague ordered a fried egg with leek. When I took the first bite, I vaguely felt that the taste of leek was a bit wrong, and it seemed a bit "bad", but I was still uncertain. So, I didn't say anything and kept trying. In the second bite, the feeling of "rancid" seems to have disappeared again, but in the third bite, it seems to be there again. I began to suspect that I didn't feel right, not that there was something wrong with leek. But I still have doubts about the quality of leeks. When the whole dish was "destroyed" by about two thirds, I suddenly felt that leeks had a strong "bad taste". At this time, I can finally be sure of my own judgment, and I will say it right away. Unexpectedly, my colleague's judgment and "psychological process" are the same. Therefore, several of us agreed that there was something wrong with the quality of Chinese chives, which is the frequent phenomenon of "being wise after the event", and it can also be said that "the wall fell down and everyone pushed".
In fact, all the "leeks" in the scrambled eggs with leeks have not gone bad, otherwise we will not come to the conclusion that the leeks have gone bad after eating two thirds of them. However, once we have reached an understanding of * * *, we can't help but have an illusion that all leeks have gone bad. At this time, the restaurant owner has two choices. First, the restaurant owner flatly denied our judgment without tasting it, insisting that the quality of leek must be good, and then we "get justice" for it; Secondly, the restaurant owner immediately promised to try it, and then told us that some leeks did have problems and offered to change them or give them free. We wouldn't care about such a trivial matter. At that time, restaurant owners took a similar approach to the latter. If you choose the former, it will gradually cause the restaurant to be "left out in front of the door". There are not a few restaurants that have closed down like this.
This seems to cast a shadow over the entire catering industry. Fortunately, consumers are sometimes forgetful, or do not know how to choose, because not only street shops will have problems, but also five-star hotels will have problems; No one will have a problem, and so will international famous brands. Who should consumers trust at this time? Therefore, the whole catering industry should pay attention to these crises, realize that this will be the crisis of the whole industry, think from the perspective of consumers, and make necessary reflection and improvement from the root. Of course, this is actually to find a healthy development path for the entire catering industry.
Cure the symptoms: Crisis public relations must follow the "Sanming Doctrine"
How should a catering enterprise face and deal with these crises? I think we must abide by the "Sanming Doctrine", that is, clear attitude, clear information and clear thinking.
First, the attitude is "clear". The catering enterprises should have a clear attitude towards the crisis and make it clear at the first time that they can't escape the crisis by any means. This is the first essence of crisis public relations in catering enterprises. For example, China Yum! In fact, Brands said in the statement on the issue of "Sudan Red 1": "Although we have asked the relevant suppliers of Yum many times! Brand, to ensure that its products do not contain "Sudan Red No.1" ingredients, we have obtained their written guarantee. However, unfortunately, the ingredient' Sudan Red No.1' was still found in KFC's New Orleans roasted wing and New Orleans roasted chicken leg burger seasoning yesterday. " What kind of attitude is this? Ambiguous? Sophistication? This is obviously to divert the attention of the media and consumers and put all the responsibilities on the suppliers. Can the media and consumers be satisfied with this? Obviously not. After all, it is useless to do so. The management of KFC should first "take care of each other", clearly show their attitude and admit KFC's incompetence in quality supervision, instead of looking for scapegoats to excuse themselves.
For another example, after the crisis in central Sichuan, its chairman, Mr. Qu Chuangang, gave such an explanation for "improper operation": the specific method of snail meat refers to the Sichuan cuisine method about the strange taste of snails in the third issue of 2006. The implication is that this crisis is related to Sichuan cuisine, and Sichuan cuisine should bear certain responsibilities. In fact, this statement is exactly the same as KFC, which is of no help. Since Qu Chuangang has publicly apologized to consumers on behalf of the company and expressed his responsibility, there is no need to mention Sichuan food at this time. Even if it is really misled by Sichuan cuisine, this sentence can't be said now, that is to say, the person, time and occasion who came forward to clarify this point are all wrong. Moreover, the Beijing Municipal Health Bureau finally decided to punish the illegal acts that caused Angiostrongylus cantonensis according to the Food Hygiene Law of People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Administrative Punishment Law of the People's Republic of China. The fines for Huangsidian and Jinsongdian were 365,438 yuan+05,540 yuan and 654,330 yuan respectively.
Second, the information is "clear". The information sent by catering enterprises should not be vague and changeable, which makes people doubt or guess. The chain restaurant must indicate which branch it is, so as to reduce the overall damage to the brand, otherwise it would be a big mistake to meet the "Julian Nine Family". For example, Sina Finance concluded that McDonald's had "three changes" in the face of "French fries crisis": the trans fatty acid content changed. On February 8, 2006, McDonald's publicly admitted that the content of unhealthy trans fatty acids in each McDonald's French fries increased from 6 grams in the past to 8 grams; Second, the variety of oil change, McDonald's China Company issued an emergency statement on the evening of February 8, saying that the French fries in McDonald's Chinese mainland restaurant are currently using "olive oil". On the morning of February 9, the "olive oil" in the previous statement was changed to "palm oil"; Third, change the composition of French fries. In February 2006, McDonald's quietly added the words "containing wheat, milk and gluten" to its official website. A week later, McDonald's publicly announced that its French fries contained allergic ingredients. Previously, McDonald's has always claimed that there are no such potential allergens in the French fries sold, and consumers who are allergic to dairy products can safely eat them. The message sent by McDonald's has lost the "stability" and "levity" that an international brand should have. Inconsistent information can only lead to more public doubts and speculations and deepen the crisis.
For another example, according to China Times, The Romance of Shu has always claimed to compensate patients for misdiagnosis fees in the early stage, and later claimed not to compensate patients for misdiagnosis fees. The person in charge of the emergency team of the Romance of Shu explained to the patient: "We made a mistake in the early stage." The person in charge of the team also said that the long-standing existence of Angiostrongylus cantonensis made it impossible for patients to be diagnosed, which was the negligence of the health department. Patients can ask the government and find a hospital. At present, the restaurant only pays part of the right medicine, and reports the medical expenses of which hospital it is confirmed. This inconsistent "fuzzy" treatment violates the principle of "clear" information, which makes people feel that they are shirking their responsibilities and patients will naturally be more angry. The correct way is to communicate and negotiate with relevant hospitals, come up with effective solutions and then release information, thus effectively solving the problem.
Third, the thinking is "clear". After the crisis, catering enterprises should not only "show their attitude" and "release information", but also "take care of each other", stand on the position of "victims", have clear thinking, do a good job of "cleaning up" to the maximum extent, protect and comfort "victims", resolve "crises" one by one, and take effective measures according to the situation of enterprises to avoid the occurrence of crises. For example, after the crisis, Shu's romantic restaurant took four emergency measures to solve the problems for the "victims" as much as possible: First, the restaurant assigned a special car to monitor the inpatients around the clock; Second, the staff actively contacted the customers who used cold snail meat in the restaurant from mid-May to August 8 this year to follow up whether there was any abnormality; Third, make obvious hints in the restaurant. Anyone who has eaten snail meat during this period and feels unwell will be sent to the relevant hospital for a comprehensive examination 24 hours a day. 4. Open a 24-hour consultation telephone, and have a special person to answer the customer's consultation and contact related matters for consumers. These measures, to a certain extent, reflect the sense of responsibility of a catering enterprise and win the affirmation of consumers and the media. However, The Romance of Shu should take further effective measures to completely avoid the recurrence of similar crises.
Of course, the above is only an effective strategy to treat the symptoms rather than the root cause.
Cure the root cause: strictly implement brand management for all employees.
The crisis of catering brand shows that it has not strictly implemented the all-staff brand management model (initiated and widely promoted by Zhuo Yuan brand organization), or that the implementation of all-staff brand management has not yet been put in place. In order to minimize the possibility of crisis, catering enterprises must vigorously implement brand management for all employees. This is an effective strategy to solve the problem.
As we all know, the fundamental element of a brand is people. The shaping of a successful brand cannot be accomplished by one person, one department or one brand planning organization independently. It requires the full participation of all employees in catering enterprises, and requires all employees to have brand management awareness, consciously serve consumers with their own practical actions, and maintain the brand image of catering enterprises.
For example, the branding of catering enterprises requires not only first-class chefs, excellent managers and elegant and comfortable environment, but also thoughtful and enthusiastic service and quality control of raw materials. If "The Romance of Shudu" thoroughly implemented the brand management of all employees, then this crisis can be avoided to a great extent.
Therefore, catering enterprises can avoid the crisis and finally create excellent brands only on the basis of strong sense of responsibility and conscious brand awareness in every link. Otherwise, the brand image of catering enterprises will lose its survival foundation and become water without a source and a tree without a root. It's only a matter of time before the crisis happens.