Way back in February (a whole lifetime ago), like many people, I thought coronavirus was a distant threat. Despite the news coming from China, South Korea and later Italy and Spain, it really did not seem like this terrible virus would have quite the devastating impact that it has had.

So convinced of this, in early March I booked flights to US for a much needed break away, only to receive the news a week later that the US had closed it’s borders to UK travellers – unless they were US citizens. What to do? My tickets were non-refundable, but surely I could still get a refund or a credit note, given the situation? It seemed like a no-brainer or so I thought.

Frustratingly, the travel agency I’d booked with were not very forthcoming with information or even help. They repeatedly avoided confirming whether or not they would refund my tickets, before finally suggesting I re-book and fly before the end of June, completely ignoring the fact that it would be pretty impossible to do so.In the end, I resorted to contacting my credit card company who promptly took on the task of getting my money (or rather their money!) refunded.

But in the midst of all of this drama, I got to thinking about what constitutes good comms in the midst of a crisis. For me, the lack of communication from the travel agent, and their adamant refusal to answer direct questions, equalled poor customer service, and only served to ensure that I would neither recommend or use their service again.

So what would have made good comms? I fully appreciate that the situation was unprecedented. But an unprecedented crisis is no excuse for not proactively communicating with your customers what your position is, and what, if any your customer’s options are. In the case of this travel agency, even their social media was silent, except for some clearly automated tweets about the latest travel deals and a poorly conceived and frankly racist joke about travel to China.

It’s important for brands to communicate with their customers in general. But in times of crisis it’s imperative, to both inform and reassure. Failing to do so can only ensure that once the crisis is over a lot of customers will have taken their business elsewhere and a brand reputation will have needlessly suffered.