Presented to Ms Veronica Koh

Introduction

Question 1

Question 2

Question 3

Question 4

Crash of Flight SQ006 at Taipei’s International Airport on 31 October 2000

LRT train collision at the Phonenix Station in Choa Chu Kang on 18 November

Deal with the public on errors due to staff negligence

Different approaches on customer recovery according to severity of the errors

Examine responses of the organization

Learnt lessons on customer recovery and corporation communication during a crisis

Refer to the hyperlinked articles posted under the section

“Cases”, compare and contrast both cases that were

presented and list down areas of similarities and

differences

Similarities

Affected the image of the organization

Occurred due to neglect and information glitches

Obstacles effected the accidents

Capacity in each transportation was less than half full when the accidents occurred

The minister in charge visited the sites soon after the accidents

Differences

Singapore Airlines is an established organization with 28 years of experience while SLRT had only been around for about a year

LRT collision occurred in Singapore while SQ006 crash occurred in Taipei

Fewer passengers were hurt in the LRT collision and there were no death

Form of transportation and systems were different

Refer to the hyperlinked articles posted under the section “Cases”, analyze how the

management of both organizations responded in the

immediate week from the data of the respective incidents. Discuss

the messages in terms of:• Focus of the Message• Tone of the Message

Anxious about the welfare of the victims

SIA chairman Michael Fam said:“Our immediate priority is to take care of all the affected passengers and crew and their respective families.”

Singapore Airlines

Sensitive on talk regarding money

SIA vice-president for public affairs Rick Clements stressed that this was not the appropriate time to talk about money yet… “We will address the issue of compensation as soon as possible.”

Eager to reassurance their customers

Mr Clements “We will be able to use our own equipment and resources to continue operating normal schedules.”

Serious and willing to accept their responsibility

SIA CEO Cheong Choong Kong said: “Frankly, I am not too concerned if our responsibility is diminished in any way. They were our pilots, our aircraft and it was on the wrong runway. As I said, we do accept full responsibility. ”

Determined to find the cause of the crash

“We have got to understand the reasons. What caused the error to be made? We will have to look at every possibility and understand how that mistake happened.”

SMRT

Eager to reassure passengers on the safety of LRT

Singapore LRT blamed the accident on “procedural error”, but was quick to assure the public that such errors would not be repeated in future with new and stricter checks.

Unhappy about the negligent of the operator

“Had the operator followed procedure, this would not have happened.”

Confident of not repeating the same error

“We are sure that the new procedures will prevent a repeat of the error,” he said.

Unsure on how much the collision affected them

A Singapore LRT spokesman could not comment on whether Sunday’s crash had affected the number of passengers, saying that it would take at least a day to get the figures

Drawing from the facts presented in the hyperlinked articles, as

well as from your own personal impressions,

evaluate the communication efforts of Singapore Airlines

and SMRT, and state the lessons to be learnt

Communication Efforts

Both

Facts such as number of injuries or death were released to the public

Organization accepted full responsibility for the error that led to the respective incident

Singapore Airlines

Emphasized on the need to look after the passengers, crew and their family members

However, it seems that the media were informed of any information updates before the victims’ families

Assured that the airline’s flight schedule will not be disrupted

Avoided sensitive issues on liabilities and insurance coverage

Ensured to check if the safety features are adequate

And to look at every possibility to find and understand the reasons that caused the fatal error

SMRT

Provided buses to ferry the passengers between the stations after the collision

Signs were set up to inform commuters of no LRT service

Assured the public that errors would not be repeated with stricter checks

But unable to give the figures on whether the collision affected the number of passengers

Both

To have routine checks on the safety features

To have staff training on what to do during a crisis

Lessons to be Learnt

To reassure future passengers

Organization to show more effective measures to prevent repeated incidents

Providing better assurance to passengers using the transportation in the future

Singapore Airlines

To check departing conditions

When there is conflicting report on the condition of the runway, double check again before departing

SMRT

To have stricter rules

Operators required to seek approval from supervisors before resetting stopped system

Supervisors to ensure that all checks are completed before approving

To handle crisis more appropriately

Staff to show more concern for the passengers involved in the collision instead of putting the condition of the train as their top priority

Recommend how companies should communicate more

effectively with their stakeholders (specifically the customers and the public) in event of a service breakdown

(ie. When something goes wrong with the service that has

been provided)

Recommendations

To communicate more effectively

Use more a convincing and consoling tone

Reassure the public and their customers

Instead of blaming on the technical problems

More effective ways to keep in touch with the victims’ families

Give better assurance to help through the difficult time

Show more concern for any casualties upon arriving at the scene instead on checking on the trains first.

Hotlines should also be provided for the public to call for enquiries regarding the collision.

Prepared By:

Beatrice Huang

Hoi Wei Yee

Fiona Lim

Yao Shiting