Weak response hurts pizza giant’s reputation
Early this month, Ken Wieczerza went to reheat a piece of his Pizza Hut from the night before, only to (allegedly) find a used, bloody bandage. Obviously dismayed, Wieczerza claims to have sought a private resolution, but was forced public by Pizza Hut’s own inadequate communication.
This quote from The Consumerist describes the situation as it stands:
“I’m not out to hurt the restaurant, the manager or the employees and that’s why I waited so long to take it to this level after I tried to keep it low-key and private,” he (Wieczerza) said. “I explained all I wanted was to bill the company for blood work and tests to make sure that whoever wore this bandage didn’t have hepatitis or AIDS or some other disease.”
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While Pizza Hut officials stayed mum when pressed by the Union Times, a company spokesman told local station News 10 that they “take these matters very seriously and we are conducting a thorough investigation of the incident.”
Now, they’re challenging the veracity of Wieczerza’s claims, saying the dough is inconsistent with that used by Pizza Hut. He says they’ve never even seen the pizza yet.
“We didn’t show anybody from Pizza Hut the pizza or the bandage and they basically called us liars,” Wieczerza said. “I finally said enough is enough.”
It’s just plain bad crisis management for the Hut to attempt to cast doubt on the accuser, especially when he’s been very forthcoming with the evidence for any media source that wished to view it.
Regardless of what actually happened, anyone reading the articles in The Consumerist, the Union Times, or any of the myriad other online publications that have picked up the story, is very likely to have already found Pizza Hut guilty in their own mind.
The BCM Blogging Team
https://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/
Comments 1
pizza huts pizza are not near as good as they were back in the 60s and 70s . at one time your pizza was the best ,full to the outer edge and great taste. now it seems very low quality taste from cheap products ,and the pizza is always at least 2 inches from the outer edge ,this in itself is a cheap look and the feeling of being ripped off on your food .it seems every one of your stores are low lit and dark which gives the appearance of uncleanliness. I like open and bright so I can see everything .I hate to complain but the greasy smell is also a factor in how a person responds to going to a business and if you will come back .