I just managed to download some photos I took – a bit pleased at my bread baking adventure. This is coming from a person who has no baking skills whatsoever… except for my signature banana cake recipe.
Here’s how the bread turned out… from dough to bread.
Cleffairy, I’m going to try baking this bread again next week. To see if the recipe still holds true.
On another note, I’m so bummed that I have to throw away my Walls Moo Ice Cream. If you know me, I don’t really like ice cream that much but I finally found an ice cream I liked. And man, whaddayaknow, I flipped the package over and it’s made in China.
Damn. Damn. I now have to chuck the whole thing away.
But I had eaten another pack of it not too long ago.
Am I Melamined? Hell.
This is what happens when people cut corners and have no ethics in their lives! What I am super mad is, Walls didn’t make a peep. What bad crisis management.
A Lesson To Learn…The Hard Way
At least tell consumers that you’re either recalling the products or something. There’s a big PR mistake here, especially in Malaysia. Fonterra was smart – well, not so smart since they partnered with the Sanlu Group but they were speedy enough to take out ads to reassure consumers that their milk is not tainted with melamine.
But look at the other milk companies! Either your PR people are sleeping on the job, or you feel guilty or embarrassed at admitting your milk products are made in China or there’s this “let’s keep quiet coz we don’t want our sales to suffer!” Either way, am I glad I don’t drink milk.
In crisis management (which in layman terms means, say sorry if you fouled up or at least be man or woman enough to admit your shortcomings), the first thing is reassurance. Don’t hide. Don’t hide because it makes you look awfully guilty. Even if you’re clean and innocent like a cherubim.
Next, come out and explain what happened. If you don’t, you risk looking like some damn creepy corporate type which means, the consumers won’t ever trust you or your brand again.
As it is, being big and corporate is quite a liability these days. Remember the days of Enron? If you’re a big company, people automatically think you have something to hide. Even if you don’t.
So I’m surprised Walls kept quiet. I trust Walls. It’s a brand I know from young and I’m not very young now (I’m 34).
So where’s the corporate communications people? Where’s the PR people? (I did Journalism before, I did Corp Comms before. I did Investor Relations too. So I’m not barking up the wrong tree.)
I suspect no one knew this was coming and it hit them right between the eyes. Of course, once you get hit, you get up and think, OK, what’s my next line of defense?
But I don’t see that happening – except that today, there was an ad taken out by Nestle Malaysia to clarify their position on this fiasco. But speed is essential. Don’t sit and wait too long or consumers think you’re apathetic and you don’t care.
Which is a pity because milk companies and ice cream companies can benefit from the goodwill (from consumers) if they did the right thing. They can turn the crisis to their benefit but nope, nothing’s beeping at all.
And I have to junk my Walls Moo ice cream. Adoi…