The most telling aspect of the Optus Triple O bungle is how the company’s first faltering steps last Friday have defined the whole sorry chain of events. Those of us in corporate communication for more than a hot minute have seen this movie before, so it wasn’t a shock.
If you’re going to call a media conference at the media witching hour of 5.30pm on a Friday afternoon, at least be in control and look decisive. The crisis had been playing out for more than a day, and Optus was neither.
The cardinal rule of crisis management is that you must do something meaningful and positive to make a situation right. You must own it, even when it’s not your fault.
Optus was clear that its failed systems were to blame but actions speak volumes, louder than words. Expressing regret for people dying rings hollow if you haven’t even tried to contact families of the deceased.
The involvement of overseas call centres was a lightning rod for public anger because who hasn’t experienced an operator (foreign or onshore) who isn’t able or empowered to help?
But not telling the regulator and governments about something that’s gone horribly wrong on their watch? Inexcusable when your track record already screams that you can’t be trusted.
Optus has been working to rebuild market confidence after being hit by one of Australia’s biggest cyber-attacks and suffering a 14-hour network outage that cost millions of dollars in fines.
Most commentators have missed the fact that in June, Optus agreed to a fine of $100m for unconscionable conduct for selling mobile services to people who could not afford them.
The irony is that three months ago, Optus replaced its marketing and advertising agencies after a sweeping review. They’ll have their work cut out for them.
Craig Regan, Senior Account Director, Primary Communication
