Another Cruise Ship Blamed for Deaths

Catherine Paneral

Jour 4460

Blog Thirteen

Princess Cruise Line is currently being investigated for the deaths of two 16-year-old boys who were stranded out at sea on a small fishing boat. Passenger Judy Meredith alerted a crew member of the stranded ship she had seen through her high-power binoculars. Meredith hoped the captain would send someone out to check on the boat but nothing ever happened.

"I saw a young man in the front of the boat waving his shirt up and down. Big motions, up over his head and down to the floor, waving it vigorously. Frantically I would say. That signal told me that they were in trouble. They were trying everything they could to get our attention,” Meredith told Good Morning America. “Nothing happened. The ship didn't slow down. It didn't seem to change course. And so I went back in and asked what the captain was going to do. And he said he didn't know (Rosenbaum 2012)."

In that fishing boat were three young boys. Adrian "Santi" Vasquez, Oropeces Betancourt and Fernando Osario set out on a fishing trip Friday, February 24. After a day out on the water the boys realized the motor would not start up to take them back to shore. They were stranded, drifting further and further away from land. “The three Panamanian fishermen drifted at sea for more than two weeks, hungry, hot, and dehydrated, before they spotted the Star Princess cruise ship and started desperately signaling for a rescue (Rosenbaum 2012).”  Betancourt and Osario died of dehydration just one day after the encounter with the cruise ship. 

The boat floated hundreds of miles for another two weeks before Vasquez, the only survivor, was rescued March 24 by an Ecuadoran fishing boat. "For a minute it looked like they were going to turn to come for us, but then they just went on their way,” he said about seeing the Princess Cruise.

The story is a tragedy. Many feel the boys would have survived if the captain of the cruise ship would have sent help. While that may be true, either way I feel the captain would have still encountered some sort of backlash.

If the captain would have checked on the fishing boat, he could be criticized for endangering the lives of the crew members he would have sent out there. The captain is responsible for the lives of every person on the ship and by allowing other people to come aboard, who they know nothing about, could be a threat to all. I say all of this with the fact that the captain had no idea who may have been on that boat. But now because he did not check on the boat he is under investigation for neglecting those who were in desperate need of help.

Regulation 33 of the International Convention for the Safety of Life At Sea (SOLAS) Chapter V states:

"The master of a ship at sea which is in a position to be able to provide assistance on receiving a signal from any source that persons are in distress at sea, is bound to proceed with all speed to their assistance, if possible informing them or the search and rescue service that the ship is doing so. If the ship receiving the distress alert is unable or, in the special circumstances of the case, considers it unreasonable or unnecessary to proceed to their assistance, the master must enter in the log-book the reason for failing to proceed to the assistance of the persons in distress, taking into account the recommendation of the Organization, to inform the appropriate search and rescue service accordingly."

“Santa Clarita, Calif.-based Princess Cruises, which is British-American owned, said in an email that it has launched an internal investigation into the matter, writing, "We're aware of the allegations that Star Princess supposedly passed by a boat in distress that was carrying three Panamanian fishermen on March 10, 2012. At this time we cannot verify the facts as reported, and we are currently conducting an internal investigation on the matter (Rosenbaum 2012).’” 

Source:

Rosenbaum, Matthew. "Princess Cruises to Investigate Why Captain Ignored Distress Call."Yahoo! Good Morning America, 18 Apr. 2012. Web. 19 Apr. 2012. <http://gma.yahoo.com/princess-cruises-investigate-why-captain-ignored-distress-call-233100964--abc-news-topstories.html>.

Tweet Your Frustration

Catherine Paneral

Jour 4460

Blog Twelve

During this semester I realized how important social media is in public relations, specifically Twitter. It is a fantastic tool for sharing news articles and blog links. I’ve recently experienced the huge role Twitter plays in customer service.

The other day my Internet was sucking. BAD. So I Tweeted my frustration to the company. Within the hour my Internet provider had Tweeted me back apologizing for the inconvenience I was experiencing and asked me to direct message them so we could work out the issue.  It didn’t take long to locate the problem the problem I was having and they sent out a representative with a new modem the same day. It was awesome. In return I Tweeted my appreciation to the company and deleted my rude complaint Tweet.

Handling my issue through the customer service offered via Twitter was so much better than sitting on the phone forever talking to someone with a heavy accent who would have probably transferred me around to someone who could help me with my issue. I liked that I didn’t have to wait on hold for long periods of time. I could be productive with all the other items on my to-do list while I waited for a response Tweet.

Twitter makes everything better. Many companies are focusing their customer service on social media because everyone can see it. Before Twitter if I was having an issue with a company I could just vent to my friends about it and sit on the phone, waiting my turn in line for the next available representative. So 2005. Public Tweets are responded to more immediately because the company doesn’t want your negative statement to be left there, growing in fury, for all to see. If they can correct the issue immediately for all to see then it is a point for them. Who doesn’t love and appreciate faster service? 

If you haven’t tried it yet, I honestly recommend Tweeting your frustrations the next time you encounter an issue. Do it as an experiment. See how long it takes for that company to respond to your Tweet, if they do at all. If the company representative is able to resolve your issues, make sure you do your part by publicly Tweeting an appreciation post. It can play in your favor. One time I ordered some tacos to-go and the restaurant forgot to put one in the bag. I Tweeted them and guess what? They apologized, DMed me and sent me a voucher worth TWO free tacos! It was awesome.

Social media can really help businesses improve their customer service which in turn can possibly prevent even bigger future problems which makes the PR professionals role much easier in the end…at least for that one day. 

Tough to announce…

Catherine Paneral

Jour 4460

Blog Eleven

J.C. Penney announced Thursday morning the company would lay off 600 employees at the headquarter location in Plano. While the decision was made with a heavy heart, J.C. Penney is keeping the mentality of the company as positive as they can. 

“Penney said in a press release this morning it's "reorganizing the workforce at its headquarters in Plano, where it will be taking a range of actions to realign its management structure."

J.C. Penney employs more than 150,000 people with 5,900 employees located at headquarters. The 600 employees who were laid off represent 10 percent of the corporate staff.

In addition to corporate cuts, Penney said they would also be closing a customer call center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in July. “A Penney spokeswoman said the call center closing is due to a 30 percent decline in call volume because customers aren't as confused about pricing and the new return policy is simpler.” This is bitter sweet for J.C. Penney because their rebranding of the store was done in hope of pleasing the customer, not in hopes of simplifying it enough to not need as many employees. The closing of this call center will reduce the locations from three to two, laying off about 300 employees.

How do you tell all these people they no longer have a job? “Penney CEO Ron Johnson said after two months into the company's transformation plans that include new everyday low pricing and marketing, management believes the changes are the right thing to do.”

"We can see - more clearly than we even imagined - that this is a simpler way to do business and a better way to compete," Johnson said.

J.C. Penney made the decision to cut positions but they also have a plan for the company’s future. "‘We are going to operate like a start-up. We are going to extend the reach and span of control of our very best talent. We are going to be nimble, quick to learn, quicker to react and totally committed to realizing our vision to become America's favorite store,’ Johnson said.’”

Eliminating positions is never easy for a company with morals. While it may look like the J.C. Penney is the big, bad wolf, their PR department is working hard to keep their customers happy by giving them what they want: a simple shopping experience.

Source:

http://bizbeatblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2012/04/jc-penney-layoffs-expected-at.html