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Impressive … And It’s Really Not Even Their Crisis

By: Amber Morris | 02/05/2009

I'm a busy girl. Mail gets sorted into piles: "immediate" and "peruse at my leisure." Mail from Costco typically isn't urgent and usually lands in the examine-later stack. As I tackled the "peruse" pile last night, I was impressed by the letter from Costco and their response to a crisis that technically isn't even theirs. 

Salmonella poisoning in peanut butter from Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) (http://www.peanutcorp.com/) has been making headlines for weeks. Five months ago I bought Clif Bars at Costco. Despite that time frame, my purchase fell within the window of the recall. Costco, in clear partnership with Clif Bar & Company, not only sent a the letter, but also left a voice mail to urge me to destroy the product and come to the store for a full return.

The messages were spot on: "We are taking these steps because, as a food company, consumer safety is our top priority.  As a part of our journey to do better every day, we feel strongly that a voluntary recall is the right thing to do."

As it turns out, I probably ate the accused Costco Clif bars by October, but I had purchased other bars at Target in late December.  I know Target keeps similar purchasing records ... yet no voice mail or letter from them (I adore Target so I cringe to criticize them, but the empty voice mail and snail-mailbox is proof). We also haven't heard much from the folks at PCA, who, at least in news coverage , have pointed the finger at the FDA rather than take responsibility themselves.

So, my kudos and gratitude to Costco and Clif bar.  I didn't expect and am appreciative of their response (as a consumer and PR practitioner) to this crisis.

Posted in Issues and Crisis Management