FreshFood: A Case Study of the Organizational Image Repair Process

Abstract
FreshFood made a grave error when it sold bad seafood to its customers. The company now must figure out how it can regain its positive image in the mind of patrons, and it decides that social media would be conducive for such apology dissemination.

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Monday morning meetings were nothing new to the staff members of FreshFood, a local supermarket in the northernmost part of Delaware, which has been family owned and operated since the company’s inception in 1942. Jason Crabtree, the current chief executive officer and chief operating officer of FreshFood, insists that Monday meetings provide the opportunity for all supermarket staff members, including everyone from grocery baggers to managers, to reflect on the week prior and to forecast the upcoming six days. The great majority of the dialogue that transpires during the course of such meetings centers around three large themes: sales (in what departments were sales up, in what departments were sales down, what were the items that were purchased most, what were the items that were purchased least, and what disconnected items were routinely purchased together), customer service (were there customer complaints, were there any customer-staff arguments), and innovation (what could be done to increase the sales of products in the myriad of different departments). Such meetings allow the company to pride itself on what it does well and to ameliorate the company’s obvious weaknesses and struggles. At the conclusion of every meeting, Mr. Crabtree ends with his “keep up the great work and always keep your nose to the grindstone” phrase of encouragement.