Jeni’s Ice Cream Issues an Apology

[By Bruce Hennes, Hennes Communications]

Earlier this year, Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream suffered through two bouts of listeria in their manufacturing plants, causing them to close their chain of retail stores until the problem was eliminated and they felt they could return product to the shelves with confidence.

A few weeks ago, Jeni Britton Bauer wrote a heartfelt apology note to her customers.  You can read that note here.

Trust me – it’s worth the read.  And frankly, I thought it was brilliant.  Sure, I could quibble over a few word choices, perhaps a few lines.  And it’s long.  Too long.

But it doesn’t obfuscate or minimize the situation.  It’s forthright, it’s not pretentious and it certainly doesn’t sound lawyered (though it probably was).

Best of all, it tells a story.  And the most important part of that story is in its authenticity, from the way cool photo at the top all the way to the very bottom.

Let me ask you this:  If the CEO of your company or organization was on the far side of a crisis situation and wrote a similar letter, what would that letter look like?  Would it be as interesting?  Would it ring true?  Could it ring true??