It's a really bad day when you discover that someone has hacked into your computer system and gotten hold of personal financial information of customers in your store.
That one bad day can get a whole lot worse, say crisis communication consultants, if a company fails to take the necessary steps to protect and communicate with its customers.
A report in The Boston Globe recalls how Richard Walega, who believes he is a victim of the TJX hack (he shopped at a T.J. Maxx store), tried to report that his credit card was charged $6,700 for purchases he did not make.
Mr. Walega said he went from a company hotline and web site looking for ways to report what had happened before he was finally told to write a letter and mail it to TJX headquarters in Framingham, Mass.
"It's so frustrating. I want to give them a tip, and all I get is the run around," he said. "Honest people are trying to help them, and it doesn't seem like they care."
TJX spokeswoman Sherry Lang called the handling of Mr. Walega's case an "unfortunate customer experience."
For its part, TJX has taken many of the steps necessary to deal with this incident, but some believe that it has hurt more than helped its case with consumers in a number of ways.
Critics say TJX is not sharing enough information with consumers and is leaving it up to banks and credit card companies to make its own shoppers aware they may be at risk.
The company has also put itself in a bad position by waiting a month to announce what it has called an "unauthorized intrusion" into its systems instead of getting the word out more quickly.
Mike Lawrence, executive vice president of crisis prevention and management at Cone Inc., said he would have liked to have seen TJX call a news conference with its executives and law enforcement professionals to publicly discuss what had happened and next steps. It also should have trotted out new companies responsible for computer security to assure consumers every step was being taken to prevent any further breaches.
"I'd get the CEO out to the stores to talk to and reassure employees and customers, whatever they can do to instill confidence in the company's ability to fix the problem and help customers if they've been affected," said John Isaf, a senior vice president and director at Arnold Corporate Communications.
According to the Globe, TJX chairman and CEO, Ben Cammarata, has not made any public comments on the situation.
Discussion Questions: What is your assessment of how TJX has handled this matter from a consumer communication standpoint and what, if anything, it should do that it has not yet done? Will TJX's handling of this matter have an impact on sales in its T.J. Maxx and/or Marshalls?