Presented to Ms Veronica Koh

Introduction Question 1 Question 2 Question 3 Question 4

 Crash of Flight SQ006 at Taipei’s International Airport on 31 October 2000  LRT train collision at the Phonenix Station in Choa Chu Kang on 18 November

 Deal with the public on errors due to staff negligence  Different approaches on customer recovery according to severity of the errors

 Examine responses of the organization  Learnt lessons on customer recovery and corporation communication during a crisis

Refer to the hyperlinked articles posted under the section “Cases”, compare and contrast both cases that were presented and list down areas of similarities and differences

Similarities  Affected the image of the organization  Occurred due to neglect and information glitches  Obstacles effected the accidents

 Capacity in each transportation was less than half full when the accidents occurred  The minister in charge visited the sites soon after the accidents

Differences  Singapore Airlines is an established organization with 28 years of experience while SLRT had only been around for about a year  LRT collision occurred in Singapore while SQ006 crash occurred in Taipei

 Fewer passengers were hurt in the LRT collision and there were no death  Form of transportation and systems were different

Refer to the hyperlinked articles posted under the section “Cases”, analyze how the management of both organizations responded in the immediate week from the data of the respective incidents. Discuss the messages in terms of: Focus of the Message Tone of the Message

 Anxious about the welfare of the victims SIA chairman Michael Fam said:“Our immediate priority is to take care of all the affected passengers and crew and their respective families.” Singapore Airlines

 Sensitive on talk regarding money SIA vice-president for public affairs Rick Clements stressed that this was not the appropriate time to talk about money yet… “We will address the issue of compensation as soon as possible.”

 Eager to reassurance their customers Mr Clements “We will be able to use our own equipment and resources to continue operating normal schedules.”

 Serious and willing to accept their responsibility SIA CEO Cheong Choong Kong said: “Frankly, I am not too concerned if our responsibility is diminished in any way. They were our pilots, our aircraft and it was on the wrong runway. As I said, we do accept full responsibility. ”

 Determined to find the cause of the crash “We have got to understand the reasons. What caused the error to be made? We will have to look at every possibility and understand how that mistake happened.”

SMRT  Eager to reassure passengers on the safety of LRT Singapore LRT blamed the accident on “procedural error”, but was quick to assure the public that such errors would not be repeated in future with new and stricter checks.

 Unhappy about the negligent of the operator “Had the operator followed procedure, this would not have happened.”

 Confident of not repeating the same error “We are sure that the new procedures will prevent a repeat of the error,” he said.

 Unsure on how much the collision affected them A Singapore LRT spokesman could not comment on whether Sunday’s crash had affected the number of passengers, saying that it would take at least a day to get the figures

Drawing from the facts presented in the hyperlinked articles, as well as from your own personal impressions, evaluate the communication efforts of Singapore Airlines and SMRT, and state the lessons to be learnt

Communication Efforts Both  Facts such as number of injuries or death were released to the public  Organization accepted full responsibility for the error that led to the respective incident

Singapore Airlines  Emphasized on the need to look after the passengers, crew and their family members  However, it seems that the media were informed of any information updates before the victims’ families

 Assured that the airline’s flight schedule will not be disrupted  Avoided sensitive issues on liabilities and insurance coverage

 Ensured to check if the safety features are adequate  And to look at every possibility to find and understand the reasons that caused the fatal error

SMRT  Provided buses to ferry the passengers between the stations after the collision  Signs were set up to inform commuters of no LRT service

 Assured the public that errors would not be repeated with stricter checks  But unable to give the figures on whether the collision affected the number of passengers

Both  To have routine checks on the safety features  To have staff training on what to do during a crisis Lessons to be Learnt

 To reassure future passengers Organization to show more effective measures to prevent repeated incidents Providing better assurance to passengers using the transportation in the future

Singapore Airlines  To check departing conditions When there is conflicting report on the condition of the runway, double check again before departing

SMRT  To have stricter rules Operators required to seek approval from supervisors before resetting stopped system Supervisors to ensure that all checks are completed before approving

 To handle crisis more appropriately Staff to show more concern for the passengers involved in the collision instead of putting the condition of the train as their top priority

Recommend how companies should communicate more effectively with their stakeholders (specifically the customers and the public) in event of a service breakdown (ie. When something goes wrong with the service that has been provided)

Recommendations  To communicate more effectively Use more a convincing and consoling tone Reassure the public and their customers

Instead of blaming on the technical problems More effective ways to keep in touch with the victims’ families Give better assurance to help through the difficult time

Show more concern for any casualties upon arriving at the scene instead on checking on the trains first. Hotlines should also be provided for the public to call for enquiries regarding the collision.

Prepared By: Beatrice Huang Hoi Wei Yee Fiona Lim Yao Shiting