Never Say Never
June 2, 2017
By Roger Pynn, APR, CPRC
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We can all hope that British Airways never again has an IT failure like the one that stranded thousands of passengers over the weekend, and while it may be a laudable objective, saying you plan to never let something terrible happen again is an all-in bet you might not want to make.
“Once the disruption is over, we will carry out an exhaustive investigation into what caused this incident, and take measures to ensure it never happens again,” BA CEO Alex Cruz said.
Those advising Cruz on messaging should have known better and that in an industry that has been taking so many hits, erring on the side of caution is the best rule. Just as you can’t be sure you won’t have an unruly passenger or turbulent weather, you can’t promise technology won’t fail.
So what makes sense in a case like this when the pressure is on? Perhaps you advise your executive to acknowledge that “in today’s technology dependent world we all know the potential for glitches, but it behooves us to investigate this situation exhaustively and do everything in our power to find solutions and redundant protection for the future. We truly apologize and appreciate the patience of all those who were inconvenienced.”