Regular TD&F readers will recall the Touchdowns we gave to Greyhound for their competent, sensitive handling of last year’s horrific incident on one of their buses on a prairie highway, when a deranged passenger attacked, killed and mutilated a fellow traveler. Greyhound really did a solid job in the immediate aftermath. But the story came back to the fore again this week, when it was decided that the attacker – who was found not criminally responsible in court, due to his mental condition – will remain locked in a secure psychiatric facility. With the incident back in the news, another question began to surface: what happened to the bus itself? Greyhound was then forced to confirm that yes, it’s still in service, after having been fully done-over inside and given a new number. I have to call a Fumble on this one. Effective crisis communication involves “war-gaming” a bad story to its full conclusion – in this case, the “what happens to the bus?” question. Sure, these coaches are well into six figures in terms of price, but by keeping THAT one in the fleet, Greyhound now has a blight on its entire brand. Anytime one of their buses rolls by, some will be bound to wonder – is that the one? The company should have at the very least divested itself of the coach involved to a wholesaler, or better yet, sent it to the scrapyard. The price of the vehicle may seem like a bargain, if this story continues to get mileage, so to speak.
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