What does Thomas the Tank Engine (r) have to do with Toastmasters? Communication.
Two months ago, RC2, the importer of wooden train toys from China, issued a recall of 1.5 million red painted wooden trains and accessories, due to unacceptably high levels of lead paint. These trains are played with by children 1.5 to 5 years of age - children who may put the trains in their mouths and ingest the lead. Lead exposure is implicated in irreversible lowering of IQ, ADHD, and lifelong behavior problems. Clearly, RC2 corporation made a big mistake. Taking immediate action was needed not just for legal reasons, but to minimize damage to the "brand identity".
Here in York County PA, Thomas the Tank Engine means a lot to families. Kids go on the "Day Out with Thomas" at nearby Strasburg Railroad. They see the TV program on PBS. And the wooden trains, at $10-$15 each, are treasured possessions that parents work hard to buy. A lot of tears were shed for the first recall. A lot of kids woke up in the morning to find James, the red engine of Sodor, missing.
June 13, 2007 recall:
"The trust you have placed in the Thomas & Friends Wooden Railway brand is very important to us. We want you to know that we fully understand and share your concerns and are dedicated to safeguarding your children and that trust. Since our recall announcement a few weeks ago, we've focused on three primary objectives:
- Recovering products subject to the recall
- Determining what happened
- Conducting a thorough review of our processes and procedures to prevent it from happening again
We are making progress on all three objectives, and we deeply appreciate your patience and loyalty during this time."
The RC2 response of September 26 makes 3 main points:
- We are sorry, we will send a replacement
- We are taking action to prevent it from happening again
- We are "casting a wide net" to identify any other lead paint affected toys
Here is a sample:
"
Dear Concerned Parent,
On behalf of everyone at RC2 let us apologize for the worry a new toy recall may cause you and your family. We understand how painful it can be to take a cherished toy from a child. Nevertheless, we urge you to immediately check for and return any of the newly recalled toys to us.
Families returning one or more of the affected Thomas & Friends™ Wooden Railway toys will receive a replacement for each recalled item, as well as a free gift. This website offers help with identifying, returning and ordering shipping labels (September 2007 Thomas Wooden Railway recall) for the affected toys. Customers with U.S. based returns will receive prepaid shipping labels. Customers with Canadian based returns will receive preprinted shipping labels and reimbursement for postage at standard Canadian postal rates. You may also email recalls@rc2corp.com or call RC2's Consumer Care Center toll-free at (866) 725-4407.
We deeply regret the burden that recalling toys creates for parents, but we believe parents deserve to be assured of two things: First that the Thomas toys they already have are safe, and second that the new toys in stores are safe.
To assure that the toys families already have are safe, more than 1,500 individual Thomas & Friends™ Wooden Railway toy styles were retested. By casting this wide net, we discovered that five additional toys were potentially unsafe and they are being recalled, in full cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission."
In MBA school, the
Tylenol Crisis of 1982 is mentioned as a successful example of corporate disaster response. Johnson and Johnson issued a nationwide recall of Tylenol products - 31 million bottles, with a retail value of over US$100 million. The company also advertised in the national media for individuals not to consume any products that contained Tylenol. When the company acted immediately and decisively, consumer confidence was restored.
Will
Thomas the Tank Engine fare as well? What other communication steps can RC2 take?
Labels: lead paint, recall, thomas tank engine, toastmasters
