When Tragedy Strikes a Crisis Communications Plan Is a Must

Unfortunately, violent incidents occur in public places all too frequently and seemingly anywhere. This year gun violence inside and outside restaurants—in Brooklyn, N.Y., Chicago and San Antonio—took lives and wounded others. 

How restaurant owners and managers respond from a communications standpoint is especially critical to survivors, to family members and loved ones touched by the tragedy, to employees, and to the community. Having a crisis communications plan in place is essential for all businesses to deal with any kind of dire situation. I experienced this first-hand over a long communications career, helping companies deal with cyberattacks, scandals, disasters, and other crises. 

But I’d never experienced anything like the anguish caused by a senseless and deliberate act of gun violence, which occurred when I led communications at FedEx. At a FedEx facility in April 2021, a former employee shot and killed eight people and injured several others before killing…