News in the amusement industry for the last week has been
unfortunately dominated by the tragic events that occurred at Alton Towers on
the Smiler roller-coaster on June 2. As
the days have progressed, it has become clear that the Smiler accident, in
which a loaded train collided with an empty train on the track, was extremely
serious, resulting in severe injuries to three guests, one of whom,
seventeen year old Leah Washington, had to have her left leg amputated above
the knee.
For several days now, I’ve read the media coverage of this
event and have purposefully decided not to write about it. Why?
Because anything I might say about the accident itself would be pure
speculation, something I strive to avoid.
But today, something about this case caught my eye that I could not
ignore. Today, according to media
reports in the UK, the owner of Alton Towers, Merlin Entertainment, did
something that most American operators (and their lawyers) would scarcely
consider: it took full responsibility
for the injuries to its guests and promised to compensate each one. I think, given the circumstances, that this
was exactly the right move and one to which other operators should pay close
attention.
A few years ago, I spoke at an annual meeting of the New England Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions about the importance of
an apology. I’ve since written an article
or two on the same topic. The message I
have continually tried to communicate is that an apology – whether merely as an
acknowledgment of injury and an expression of sympathy, or, in more exceptional
cases, as an outright acknowledgement of liability, is often the right move
both from a public relations and a legal exposure perspective. Put simply, people are more likely to be
reasonable if their injuries are acknowledged, sympathy expressed, and
liability admitted, than if liability is hotly contested and an operator is
viewed as trying to shirk responsibility for the injury. Thus, when the circumstances dictate,
conceding liability and promising to “make it right” can go a long way in the
eyes of the injured guest and in the eyes of the public. Merlin Entertainment’s recent statements, I
believe, provide a perfect illustration of this point.
Now, its important to note that the media reports I have
seen do not indicate that that Merlin has outright apologized and
admitted fault. In fact, from what I
have seen, Merlin hasn’t done that. But
it has come very close – so close, in fact, that it may make no difference. According to media reports, a Merlin
spokesperson said that the company hand delivered letters to the injured
parties over the weekend, and further explained:
We absolutely recognise what a difficult time this is for
everyone, especially those who have been so seriously injured, and we have
tried to do this in a way that is both sensitive and appropriate.
Irrespective of the outcome of the current investigations
into the causes of the accident, in these letters we have accepted full
responsibility to those who had been injured in the accident and confirmed that
we will ensure that compensation will be provided to them.
This is, in a word, remarkable. In my mind, Alton Towers did at least two big
things right here:
1. Hand Delivering These Letters: Put the content of the letters aside for a
second. Think about the fact that an
Alton Towers representative hand-delivered
letters from, presumably, the top brass to each person injured on the
Smiler. Ask yourself, would the very
same letter have had the same impact on the guest if it had been mailed? I don’t think so. Mailing the letter reinforces the guest’s
view of the park as a corporation – without feeling, without sympathy, without
compassion, and without concern for anything but the bottom line. Hand delivery sends a very different
message. Hand delivery means a person,
not a corporation, is standing there, putting a living, breathing face on the owner
of the park. Hand delivery sends a
message to both the injured guest and the broader public that Merlin is its
people, and those people didn’t want this to happen and are going to do what it
takes to make it right. That’s an
important message to send, both to the injured guest and to the public, in the
wake of an incident like this.
2. Acceptance of “Full Responsibility”: Now let’s talk about the content of those
letters. Merlin Entertainment has “accepted
full responsibility to those who had been injured in the accident.” In the United
States, which has a legal system not altogether different from that in the UK,
that is the kind of statement most lawyers never want to hear their client say
out loud to anyone. After all, lawyers
are paid to ensure that their client’s liability is minimized to the extent
legal and ethical. In most cases,
lawyers would never advise a client to admit liability – or at least not admit
it a week after the accident occurred.
But this is not most cases.
This is a true “no-win” scenario for Alton Towers. Even if it were to fight tooth and nail and
ultimately be legally exonerated in a court of law, it will have spent a tremendous amount of
money to obtain that result and will have been subjected to an avalanche of
negative press throughout. Public
confidence in Merlin and, more specifically, Alton Towers, would be undoubtedly
shaken and could take years to recover. This is a case that has quickly been tried in the court of public opinion and the
media – and blame has been placed at the feet of the operator. Indeed, maybe the park already knows it is at
fault. Maybe not. It does not really matter. From the operator’s perspective,
this narrative – of the park that hurts people – is not helpful, and fighting
responsibility for these injuries is only going to make it worse – perhaps much
worse.
So what to do? Change the narrative. By publicly taking full
responsibility now, that has become the story. Now Merlin is viewed as the company that is
doing the right thing, that is accepting responsibility “irrespective of the
outcome of the investigation,” that is putting people first. And that is a narrative that Merlin, and its
guests, can embrace as the park, its employees, and, most importantly, its injured guests try to recover. Its also a narrative that a judge or jury will likely appreciate when and if this case lands in court.
Now, don’t misunderstand me. I’m
not in favor of admitting liability every time someone gets injured.
There is frequently no reason to do so, and I don’t think any operator should
take that kind of action without a full and frank discussion with counsel and
the insurer. This is not a course to be undertaken lightly. But, in
an exceptional case like this one, it is an option that should be
considered. Operators, insurers, and their counsel should weigh the
public and private costs of litigation (both monetary and perception costs)
against the costs and potential benefits of accepting liability and moving
forward toward recovery. It may be that the costs and benefits of
accepting liability early in the case outweigh the cost of litigating toward a pyrrhic victory – one where, under the best
case scenario, the operator is legally exonerated but spent millions and lost
public trust in the process.
Nothing is going to change what
happened on the Smiler and nothing is going to make the injuries to those
guests go away. But Merlin has changed the narrative from one that looks
back and focuses on the accident to one that looks forward and focuses on recovery.
In the long run, I think this will undoubtedly prove a very smart choice.
There are occasions when an entertainment agent spends the whole day searching for the right act. https://putlocker.vg/tvshow/watch-naruto-online-46260
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