Friday, April 17, 2020
Destroying Your Reputation
Cruise lines have come under intense scrutiny since the COVID-19 pandemic started. It seems their confined spaces are petri dishes for the growth of the virus. But, as this article notes, at least one major line, Carnival, didn't handle the outbreak well. It delayed in informing passengers of the incidence of the disease until its ships became floating wards of cases. The cruise line's reputation has been deeply damaged, and it is unlikely it will be able to conduct profitable business until the novel coronavirus is under control. That could take months, if not years. Meanwhile, its ships must continue to travel or the company can't pay its bills. Tying them up at a dock would mean taking multi-billion dollar assets out of service. The only way Carnival can continue now is to be hyper-vigilant -- testing passengers before they embark, quarantining passengers swiftly should they become ill, getting the sick off a ship quickly and into medical care, cutting down on large gatherings onboard and making passengers aware of prophylactics underway. Even this might not be enough. Carnival has much to do to overcome poor PR and to restore its reputation that it destroyed all by itself.
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