Tuesday, January 25, 2011

A Tale of Two Supermarkets and Risk Management Lessons

by Stephen McPhie, CA

Partner, RSD Solutions Inc. 

www.rsdsolutions.com

info@rsdsolutions.com

 

Over the last couple of months I have heard two separate stories of customers of two different large supermarkets being injured while shopping.  Both customers happened to be elderly ladies. 

Lady A slipped and fell and twisted her ankle.  The injury was not serious but the Supermarket arranged a cab home for her.  The store manager phoned the next day to ask how she was getting on and promised to send a £25 shopping voucher, which he did.

 Lady B was struck from behind by a large trolley used to replenish the shelves and which was being pushed by an employee.  She was treated by the store’s first aid person and advised to go to hospital.  She did this and required 5 stitches.  Her shoes were blood soaked and ruined.  She could not wear shoes for a month and needed several follow doctor visits costing cab fares each time.

 Several letters from Lady B’s family following no further communication from the supermarket elicited only vague sympathy and the claim that the employee pushing the trolley was pushed by another customer and thus denial of liability.  They did eventually send a £25 shopping voucher as a “gesture of good will” with the hope that the lady will not stop shopping at their store.  The family are now engaging a compensation lawyer.

 

The prompt and caring action by the fist supermarket cost little and resulted in a happy customer who will tell all her friends how nice the manager was to phone and how well she was treated.


The story is not over yet for the second supermarket, but it faces not only the possibility of significant compensation and legal costs, but also potentially bad publicity.  There is also the risk that the bad publicity is magnified if the media take up the story.

So what are the lessons for risk management?  They would seem obvious for most, but in this case one large organisation appears to have been totally blind to them.  Identifying the possibility (or, for supermarkets, the likelihood) of such accidents and a protocol for dealing with them promptly costs little but can turn the situation to their advantage.  There may be no strict legal liability but even a few hundred dollars could prevent losing a customer, possibly several, and bring positive publicity.

 

 

 

 

 

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