FOCUS ON MARKETING: Broadcast News

In the pest management industry, especially on the termite protection side of the business, a visit from the local TV “action reporter” is not an uncommon fear (or, for that matter, not an uncommon experience). Having contended with these occurrences more than once, it would be useful for other pest management professionals to know a little about how this works and offer some thoughts on how to deal with it if this happens to you and your company.

THE KNOCK AT THE DOOR. Most often, the “action reporter” gets involved in your life when you and a customer haven’t been able to work things out to the customer’s satisfaction. This doesn’t mean you’re being unreasonable. It simply means that you have failed to meet your customer’s (perhaps unrealistic) expectations. It also could mean that your customer didn’t understand the true responsibility you have (or he or she has) in the relationship.

In the termite business, many “action reporter” or “consumer reporter” segments have to do with the intricacies of the guarantee. Perhaps the customer doesn’t understand (or the pest management professional hasn’t adequately explained) the difference between a “retreat ONLY” guarantee vs. a “repair” guarantee. The customer wants something he or she isn’t contractually entitled to. The pest management professional doesn’t want to establish a precedent by taking care of “just this one” customer, lest his or her insurance coverage be affected by such generosity.

When the customer calls the “action reporter” things begin to happen. The reporter or his or her producer “investigates” the customer’s complaint. This “investigation” sometimes is nothing more than the reporter or producer’s opinion regarding the compelling nature of the story. How distraught is the customer? Are there good pictures of termite damage or, even better, live termites doing what live termites do? Is the “big, bad” pest management professional showing either indifference or, even better, outright contempt for the customer’s complaint? Never mind details like the customer’s reading or understanding of his or her guarantee. Never mind the customer’s responsibilities under the terms and conditions of the agreement. And never mind that the customer never contacted the pest management professional with a complaint in the first place.

Not all “action reporters” are this superficial. But some are, and they are not to be taken lightly.

When the “action reporter” calls the pest management professional, this usually signals two things. First, that he or she believes there is a credible case (and therefore a story) here for the viewers. Second, and most important, it could mean that he or she has already packaged the story and is coming to the pest management professional for a response. The reporter’s question could be as clearly posed as, “Your customer has a devastating termite problem. What are you going to do about it?” And by the way, “The story is airing at 5:30 p.m. this evening!”

Sometimes, the more responsible reporter will actually want to meet with you to discuss the merits of the customer’s complaint before deciding to do a story or to attempt to do a genuinely balanced report. My experience is that there are precious few of these folks, but they do exist.

So, besides the obvious admonitions to provide your customers with extraordinarily great service and to do everything possible to resolve any complaints to the customer’s complete and unequivocal satisfaction, what can you do when confronted by this potentially ugly situation?

First, make an attempt to get to know the local “action reporter(s)” in your market. Perhaps you can offer to provide them with insight about the “ins and outs” of the business, especially the termite business. And don’t wait to do this until they’re looking to nail you on an open complaint.

Second, do everything in your power to keep your customer, if not completely satisfied, at least talking to you when there’s a problem. Typically, first the customer attempts to resolve the complaint directly with the pest management professional. If that comes apart, the customer will often contact an attorney and attempt to get things resolved to his or her satisfaction. If the legal action doesn’t get the desired result (either in terms of the overall judgement or in terms of the amount granted) that’s when the enterprising customer reaches for public opinion and “the court of last resort” comes into play.

STEPS TO TAKE. If (when?) this happens to you, my advice is to take the following steps, although not necessarily in any particular order.

1. When the reporter or producer calls, don’t run for cover and under no circumstances say, “No comment!” unless there is legal action pending. Take the call and regardless of the reporter’s deadline, ask for a face-to-face meeting OFF CAMERA. Don’t start answering questions on the phone.

2. Assuming that you have a story to tell that is at least as compelling as that of the customer, put all of your paperwork in order and lay it out OFF

CAMERA for the reporter. This tactic can turn a “victim vs. bad guy” story into a “misunderstanding” story in which the customer’s complaint against you gets aired, but you get to explain how there’s more than just one version of what’s going on. Of course, if the reporter is totally bent on being the customer’s white knight, you might not get anywhere, despite being right and even despite having a verdict in your favor. Some reporters are experts at being “accurate” in their reporting without even a hint of anything resembling “fairness.” Sad, but true.

3. NEVER, NEVER, NEVER lie to a reporter! If you do, they’ll NEVER, EVER, EVER believe you again, and they’ll put it to you every chance they have. And you’ll have no one to blame but yourself.

4. In the event the customer is playing fast and loose with the facts, engage the station’s news director in the discussion. Sometimes, a reporter can get emotionally invested in the customer’s cause and can (and sometimes does) lose objectivity. The news director is often more sensitive to issues of this nature and has the ultimate responsibility for what appears on his/her newscast. Folks in the news business hate nothing more than having to issue a public correction, retraction or other mea culpa for not having done their due diligence during the development of an otherwise compelling story.

5. Finally, if the story is going to run, and if you’re going to take a hit to your pocketbook, your image or reputation, make sure you learn from the experience. Put policies and/or procedures into place that can help prevent a similar occurrence in the future. This is a part of the price we Americans pay to live in a free society.

Of course, it goes without saying that if you’re wrong, admit it, fix it and get over it! No matter what it costs in dollars it’s not worth losing your business over.

The good news is that only a fraction of your customer base will ever see the story on television or read about it in the newspaper. If the story that’s presented is accurate, fair and balanced (in real terms), then you probably won’t get too banged up. In fact, depending on the way the story gets told, sometimes you can actually benefit from something that starts out negative but ends up getting resolved.

The author is senior vice president of Massey-Persons-Brinati Communications, a subsidiary of Massey Services Inc., Maitland, Fla. He can be reached via e-mail at bbrewer@pctonline.com.