Delta Dealt My Granddaughter and Me a “Soar(less)” Deal
07.22.2026 – When I saw a newspaper headline about Taco Bell customers purportedly getting “explosive diarrhea” from eating at this chain, I thought it would make for an excellent blog post about how it’s really bad PR for your restaurant to be mentioned in the same sentence with those words (regardless of whether or not it’s true). It would have also included my commentary on how Taco Bell’s official company statement from its PR crisis communications team did little to defuse this crisis (it was very self-serving and hit 0% on the “we’re sorry” meter). But Leticia strongly encouraged me to find something else to write about this week. So, scratch any mention of that topic this week.
The UPS Store Delivers Pathetic Passport Photos
06.24.2026 – Passaporto! Passaporto! There’s your Italian lesson for the day. And that’s what I’ll be hearing when I visit Italy for the first time (hopefully soon).
A Tale of 2 PRs
05.30.2025 – In sports, especially track and field, “PR” stands for personal record. When I started hearing that abbreviation on a regular basis a few years ago, it got my attention — considering I’ve been working in the “PR” industry since 1987. A PR is what every athlete chases — beating their best time, jumping higher, throwing further. It’s the gold standard of personal improvement.
Enterprise: In the Driver’s Seat When it Comes to Customer Service
05.02.2025 – Let me introduce you to Eagan Keever Hill — an assistant manager in the rent-a-car division at the Mesa West Enterprise location in Arizona. The moment we walked into the store, it was clear: this team had customer service dialed in.
Press Relations Lesson #1: Hey! That’s My Competitor On the Local News… It Should Be Me Instead!
01.17.2025 – How do you get an article in your local newspaper? Or your local TV news station to come to your event? Or land an interview on your local radio station? Press relations, or news media relations/outreach (same thing), is one of the core functions of many PR pros.
NEVER… Kill a Customer
01.10.2025 – It all started when a man in a restaurant noticed he had a dirty fork. It was only a tiny speck of dirt on his fork. However, this trivial complaint about a slightly dirty fork escalates into melodramatic apologies from the head waiter and then the restaurant manager.
Communication Catastrophe — You Won’t Believe This Ridiculous Airbnb Experience
08.24.2024 – Leticia and I recently celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary in Myrtle Beach. It should have been an experience as tranquil as an Atlantic Ocean breeze. After all, a 17th-floor condo with a stunning view of the beach sounded like the perfect way to mark this milestone.