Kelly Clarkson is not to be messed with when it comes to shopping – and her very public complaint this week is a good lesson in crisis PR.
The singer and TV presenter took offence on a recent shopping trip when she was informed that the little wooden bird she liked was not for sale, despite there being a price tag on the wall beside it (more on the price tag later on*).
Kelly clearly didn’t enjoy her experience with the salesperson in-store and took to social media to criticise the offending retailer (a small art shop in Brooklyn), claiming they should treat their customers better. Her interaction with the member of staff was, in her own words on X, “being treated like Julia Roberts’ character in Pretty Woman.”
The shop did not take this lying down and what has followed is a game of social media back and forth, with increasingly confusing stories as to whether the bird was for sale, for how much, who was rude and who wasn’t, and whether there was even a ‘twin bird’ which she was offered instead.
Of course, the media jumped on it all (Kelly has 8.8m followers so it was always going to happen) and the story quickly flew from excited content creator feeds to traditional media outlets.
Public complaints are something I cover off in my crisis PR training with clients. Thanks to social media, customers of all kinds are free to voice their opinions in a public arena, at any time. For business owners finding themselves under fire, the response itself is very important.
A simple apology on X and a promise to directly contact Clarkson’s representatives would have been the best response here. This way the story would have had a quick and healthy resolution. Community PR and local store-led activities could focus on the bird’s popularity to gain support and increase sales and it could have provided an opportunity to promote the store’s brand and products very well.
Instead, the owner has engaged in an online argument with someone who has a very large public platform. He has been interviewed on the matter several times and some watchers are saying he comes across as pretty arrogant and rude (hello, media training!). Heels are being dug firmly in the ground, security footage has been released to the press, and claims are even being made that “Kelly Clarkson has put us in danger”. The story has run in titles as varied as The New York Times, Rolling Stone and even Cosmopolitan.
There are always at least two sides to every story. But customer service should always come first – and even if it wasn’t intended, (and even it might not have been fair to use her huge platform to name and shame an independent business), some offence was clearly taken by Clarkson when she went into that shop.
Crisis PR is about minimising bad coverage, using the opportunity to reassure customers and then reiterating positive brand messages. It can involve a range of coordinated tactics and statements, and while it often must be managed in a very short time frame, the rules are simple:
- Address the issue head on.
- Be clear and use as few words as possible in your response.
- Apologise if needed and reassure your customers of your good service.
- Ensure the matter is dealt with behind the scenes. If a gesture of goodwill is needed, look into it.
Because publicity does have an impact. While this whole song and dance may be temporarily putting the shop on the international map, the store itself is currently closed. So regular customers (not the tourists and content creators who are really just visiting for a bit of excitement) will be disappointed. Staff are not working. And the internet saves everything, so all this unpleasant content can be seen by future potential customers.
This is why crisis PR counts. A knee-jerk response is never ideal. Neither is going on the attack. Be measured, be mindful and hire an expert.
*The SMALL WOODEN MECHANICAL BIRD in question had a price sticker next to it for a whopping £15,000. Apparently the price has now risen to £15m. Perhaps this is all just a very clever PR stunt for the artist who made the bird.
