It’s Friday and your thoughts may already be turning to that mouth-watering takeaway you are going to tuck into tonight.
But then again, if you saw a recent BBC News report you may have lost your appetite for that particular end of week treat.
The item revealed that many takeaway shops in England with a zero rating for hygiene are among those listed on the Just Eat food ordering app.
And some of the findings were stomach churning.
It revealed that half of the takeaways in Manchester, London and Bristol with a zero rating are on the platform. Nine out of 12 takeaways rated zero in Liverpool and 20 out of the 31 in Birmingham are also listed there.
The report, which featured prominently on News at Ten last week was followed up by a number of newspapers, leading to some hard to swallow headlines.
Over 100 restaurants rated zero for food hygiene found operating on Just Eat Independent
Zero star hygiene takeaways among Just Eat listings in LiverpoolLiverpool Echo
So how did the company respond to this damaging story?
Well, interestingly it opted not to put a spokesperson forward for interview.
As you watched the report you could just sense that we were not going to hear from a Just Eat spokesperson.
More and more people were brought into the story, including an environmental health officer and a consumer rights campaigner. But none of them represented the company at the centre of the story and there was an air of inevitability that the only response would be a short statement at the end.
Putting a spokesperson forward would almost certainly have resulted in the company being given more air time to get its side of the story across, probably a more prominent slot in the news item, and some control of the narrative.
Instead, the company’s views were presented with a dull and predictable statement, which told viewers very little:
It said: “Food safety is an issue we take extremely seriously.
“We actively work to raise standards and now offer free accredited food hygiene to any restaurant that signs up to our platform.
“Whenever any potential food safety issues are brought to our attention our restaurant compliance team will review and investigate.”
The statement may have said more, but this is the only part which was shown during the news item.
And that is the gamble you take when you respond in this manner – there is no guarantee the journalist will use everything you say. And if it doesn’t really offer anything new to the story then you can be pretty sure it will be reduced.
Statements which start with ‘we take this issue very seriously’ sound like stock corporate responses that have just been dusted off and put back out into the public arena.
Additionally, it was lacking in concern for customers who may have felt uneasy about ordering food through its site from restaurants with dubious hygiene standards.
#justeat report on BBC is shocking I will not be putting any business through their app.
— Peter Hatter (@PeterHatter1) October 17, 2018
Just Eat but Just Don't Look at where it's coming from. Noticed this before.. zero rating on the hygiene score and a #JustEat sign on the door
— Mike (@serachewhi) October 17, 2018
BBC News - Just Eat listings include takeaways given zero ratings for hygiene https://t.co/DNwtUrKObs
This is enough to put you off having a takeaway ever again.
— Holly Davis (@ProjectDavis) October 19, 2018
I've always wanted to be able to sort by hygiene rating on @JustEatUKhttps://t.co/LcZAic080W
I've never used Just Eat, but this story doesn't inspire much confidence in them, or encourage me to try them out. 😮🥴😒https://t.co/lRPC23QT11
— Tim O (@FlexAgain) October 17, 2018
I find it disgusting @JustEatUK can promote takeaways with a ZERO hygiene rating, surely they should promote only those with an acceptable establishment!#JustEat https://t.co/UQq9M12t7n
— Grant Rivers (@SnowAndBeach) October 17, 2018
And there was little in the way of that all-important action the company may be taking to improve this unappetising situation.
I don’t think this could be described as a crisis media management incident for the brand, but it is undoubtedly damaging and it is an issue which poses a risk to the brand’s reputation.
To my mind, if it wasn’t going to put anyone forward for interview, it should at least have put the statement in the name of its CEO or someone senior. That would have helped show that this is an issue it is taking seriously and is determined to grip.
Just Eat? I think I’ll pass for now.
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