Crisis communication is the prepared response to public attacks on the business — from the viral complaint video through review waves after an incident to the press enquiry after a hygiene report. The rule is always the same: not the crisis decides the damage, but the reaction in the first 24 hours. Businesses with a prepared plan appear composed — businesses improvising live hand the storm its next screenshot.
Tick five points honestly — readiness light and the most important next step appear instantly.
| Phase | What to do | What to avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Hour 0–2: picture | Screenshot documentation, clarify facts internally (what really happened?), assess reach | Reflex replies, deleting, justification novels |
| Hour 2–24: first response | ONE calm statement where it happens: take it seriously, promise a review, offer direct contact | Blaming guests/staff, humour attempts, legal threats in the comments |
| Day 2–7: substance | Deliver the review's outcome, admit mistakes where real + name the concrete measure; answer community questions factually | Debating trolls (answer once, then let it stand) |
| Afterwards: lessons | Fix the cause, feed learnings into the playbook, ramp positive content back up | Pretending nothing happened — regulars remember |
In principle no — deleting is every shitstorm's fuel ("they're covering up!"). Exceptions: criminal content, insults, third parties' personal data — those get reported/removed, and saying so transparently is fine.
First visible reaction within 24 hours, with viral dynamics much faster — but never faster than the internal facts. "We take this seriously and are reviewing the matter" is a perfectly legitimate first reply.
For 95% of cases the prepared own playbook suffices. External help pays with supra-regional media attention, a legal dimension, or when the owner personally is the target — emotional distance is then structurally missing.
Small outrage waves ebb within 48–72 hours — observing instead of fuelling can be right. Sitting out fails when a true core stays unanswered: it returns, with interest. Hence facts first, then the decision.