Business and Blogging

Interview with Karen Putz: Deaf Mom Denied Service at Steak and Shake

by Liz Fuller on February 14th, 2008

(businessandblogging.com)On Tuesday’s post, I wrote about the PR nightmare facing Steak and Shake after an employee denied drive-thru service to Deaf Mom and Blogger, Karen Putz.  With your help,  we analyzed how Steak and Shake was handling the mini-crisis, what they should do next, and what other businesses, including yours, could learn from the situation.

On Tuesday’s post, Karen commented:

Hi, I’m Karen, the Deaf Mom who was denied service at Steak ‘n Shake. I’m giving them the opportunity to make their restaurants accessible through http://www.inclusionsolutions.com. If Steak ‘n Shake takes us up on that, this would easily generate some great publicity for them. Let’s hope it goes in that direction!

Karen was gracious enough to answer a few questions I had about the incident and Steak and Shake’s response.  I thought it would be a helpful example of how to handle a similar PR challenge if your own company is faced with one. 

Hi Karen
Inclusion Solutions looks like a good innovation that closes a gap (that I never even realized existed until I read your post). I like the fact that you’ve come up with a concrete solution for them to rectify this situation - it’s a win-win for them and for the hearing impaired community.

I had heard about Inclusion Solutions just a few months earlier, but I paid no attention to it because I only encountered a few difficulties here and there with drive thrus in the past.  It wasn’t until I was denied service and treated so poorly, that I began to look into solutions. 

I discovered that there were many other deaf and hard of hearing people who had trouble in the drive thrus.  Many people shared that they avoided drive thrus completely.

I was fortunate that an attorney friend knew the owner of Inclusion Solutions and he put me in touch with him.  I met with Patrick Hughes, Jr. and he showed me how the Order Assist worked at a local Culver’s restaurant.

I’m curious how you came up with this idea rather than just an apology or a monetary compensation to you?

Eighteen years ago, another deaf woman sued Burger King.  She was asking for them to test a prototype for access in ten of their restaurants.  She also provided sensitivity training for their company. 

Eighteen years later, we have the same problem in all of the fast food restaurants– lack of access at the drive thru and poor training procedures for employees on how to serve people with disabilities.  Currently, there’s a case in New York where a blind woman is suing McDonalds, Taco Bell, Wendys and Burger King.  I wanted to see a positive change result from the Steak ‘n Shake incident.

Also, if it’s possible, can you comment on their reaction to this - did they seem surprised by the rapid escalation in the blogosphere? do they seem aware of all the press swirling around them? and do you think that is what is motivating them to take more action than if you hadn’t escalated it?

The company executives quickly issued an apology via email shortly after I filed the complaint via their website and said that it had the attention of the senior executives in the company. 

They are aware of the blogs that are picking this up.  The combination of the local TV stations, radio stations and the internet activity certainly has had some effect– Steak ‘n Shake quickly put together a training meeting for their representatives the following week to discuss the incident and how they could better serve their customers. 

As you explained in your blog, this incident is quickly being picked up by the search engines and will probably be taken into consideration by investors who are thinking about investing in the company. 

Steak ‘n Shake has a wonderful opportunity to take this incident into a positive thing by providing accessible drive thrus and implementing  ADA training for their employees.

If they choose not to do that, then we’ll have to examine some other steps to take.

I want to thank Karen for sharing her views on this subject.

This incident underscores what we have been saying - the traditional rules of “managing the message” don’t apply any more.  Consumers have much more opportunity to take the message into their own hands with minimal cost and maximum effect.

It appears to me that Steak and Shake is doing several things right in this situation:

• responding quickly
• apologizing publicly
• initiating training
• pursuing action

As Karen said, if they do manage to implement a change like InclusionSolution, it’s a great publicity opportunity for them and a chance to turn this incident around.   

So, what do you think? Is Steak and Shake responding properly? Should they be doing more? Or do you think they are doing too much?

And - How well are you listening to what is being said about you? How prepared are you to respond quickly and meaningfully to a crisis?

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POSTED IN: Corporate, Public Relations, crisis management