If your business provides consumer-oriented goods or services, your reputation is very important to you. When I use the term “consumer-oriented,” I mean goods or services that are primarily used for personal or household purposes. That is not to say that businesses that do not directly affect consumers are not worried about their reputations. In fact, they are, because reputation means everything.
Suppose one of your customers claims one of your employees stole an item while they were at the customer’s home making repairs. You interviewed all of the employees who were at the customer’s home. None of them saw the item in question. You speak to the homeowner, and discover that your employees were working in a completely different part of the house than where the homeowner keeps the item. You looked in the company vehicles and do not see any evidence of the item. The only thing supporting the customer’s claim is that the customer was not home at the time your employees were there. The customer files a police report. Your team cooperates, and the police do not find sufficient evidence to support any charges. The customer is insistent that your employees took the item, and is threatening to sue. What do you do?
Continue Reading Defining a Win in Litigation: Saving Reputational Costs
Last month, Jim Duncey, the majority owner and face of Duncey’s Caps, Inc., was involved in a car accident and arrested for DWI. Facing a PR crisis Duncey’s board of directors called an emergency meeting. The board implemented its crisis plan, issued a statement condemning driving while intoxicated, suspended Duncey, ordered him to attend rehabilitation, and made a $100,000 donation to MADD. 
Jim Duncey is more than just the majority owner of Duncey’s Caps, Inc. – he’s the face of the company, appearing on billboards, in television and radio ads, and on the home page of the company’s website. He is one of the most influential and recognizable business leaders in the city. On Saturday night Jim and his wife Diane attend a charity event at the toniest country club in town. With a little “liquid courage” Jim was the high bidder at the night’s live auction, which earned him respect (and envy) from those in attendance. On the way home Jim ran a stop sign and t-boned another vehicle. The driver of the other vehicle suffered serious injuries that would force her to spend several weeks in the hospital. Police investigating the accident gave Jim a field sobriety test, which he failed. Jim ended blowing a .12 BAC and was charged with DWI. The accident, along with Jim’s arrest, was the lead story on the Sunday news.