Murat Ülker criticizes former CEO of chocolate brand

The aggressive response given by Elif Aslı Yıldız Tunaoğlu, CEO of the chocolate brand Patiswiss, to a consumer who shared that a product they bought from Migros was moldy, sparked a debate on social media. Tunaoğlu was forced to resign from her position.

Yıldız Holding CEO Murat Ülker also joined the discussion regarding brand management during this process. Ülker, who is also the Chairman of the Board of Pladis and GODIVA, quoted an article by Prof. Dr. Çisil Sohodol, a faculty member at Bahçeşehir University Faculty of Communication, regarding the incident and noted, "There are always things to learn in every position.."

In her post, where Sohodol explained the possible strategies brands can adopt regarding crisis management, she used the following expressions:

"I am sure everyone knows about the 'aggressive' response the CEO of Patiswiss Chocolate gave to a customer who complained about a product.

Actually, the incident was not even a crisis. It was a problem likely stemming from operational processes that we might encounter in the food category. What needed to be done was to establish communication with the consumer showing that they were being taken care of and that the company took ownership of the problem that occurred with the product. Let's say you can't do that; then even strategic silence could have yielded better results.

But what happened! Not an employee of the brand, but the top executive herself, chose to engage in an aggressive, exclamation-filled, and confrontational exchange with the complaining consumer. And the topic that we discuss in training sessions with dear Murat Göllü, 'who will manage the crisis if the CEO creates it,' became a reality.

A company's CEO cannot, should not, and must know that they should not write such a message to a consumer. A DM being shared with everyone only takes a screenshot that can be taken in a second. While there are dozens of examples of how even internal correspondence can lead to crises in the event of a leak, this mistake is unacceptable."

News Source: 12punto