A Five-Ingredient Recipe for Restaurant Crisis Management

From a foodborne illness to a kitchen fire, a restaurant crisis can happen instantly. In the restaurant industry, it is often a matter of “when” not “if” a crisis will occur. Add to that the impact of social media, which can spread news of a crisis far and wide in a blink of an eye, and you have a situation that requires restaurants to communicate quickly and effectively to manage a crisis. While time is of the essence, one misstep in that communication can have unintended, far-reaching consequences. Even large national companies have not been immune to making some crisis management miscues that can damage a brand.

One of the ways you can avoid communication missteps is to develop a thorough and actionable crisis management plan for your restaurant. Here are five key steps to a recipe for preparation that can help you better manage any crisis:

Step 1 – Get Your Crisis Team Together and Designate Spokespersons 

National chains have corporate teams and processes that handle…