Tag: public relations

My analysis of “Papa John’s founder resigns as chairman after using N-word on conference call”

Carl Setzer

Reading this article stunned me: Papa John’s founder resigns as chairman after using N-word on conference call

A simply mind blowing story. Over the years I’ve seen plenty of people make horrible public gaffes.  It’s hard to imagine coming up with something worse to say. By a man who worked really hard to build a company into something huge. 

Psychoanalyzing people based at a distance is ineffective. However, reading this, and looking over his list of other public faux pases, I wonder if he subconsciously wanted to be fired. It explains a lot, really.

Waffle House and Well Managed PR

Carl Setzer

Here’s a great piece over at Inc.:

“Waffle House’s Response to the Drunk Customer Who Cooked His Own Meal Was a Brilliant Lesson in Humility”

The cliff notes version:

  • Guy heads to Waffle House late at night after an evening of drinking
  • Waffle House staff has fallen asleep
  • Guy who’s lacking in sobriety heads to the kitchen and cooks up his own meal

From my time in Corporate PR, I’m well aware of the reflective desire for retaliation. Mr. Warner, the PR Director at Waffle House, however, opted for a bright and pithy response.

“We’re glad Alex was able to enjoy his Texas Bacon Cheesesteak. We’ve apologized to Alex and have invited him back to eat with us. We also promised him we’d do the cooking the next time.”

For me, this was perfect. Humble, accepting of the company’s failure in this, and working to engage a committed customer. I expect they brought in many to the fold.

And, most important, they got right back to business.

Nicely played Waffle House. Nicely played indeed.