Crisis Communication: Ride the Ducks of Seattle

Tragedy struck in Philadelphia, Pa. last week when a barge hit an amphibious World War II vehicle on the Delaware River leaving two passengers dead. The vehicle, more commonly known as a duck boat, was part of a city land/water tour and carried 37 passengers. Prior to the collision, the Duck experienced an engine fire caused by a malfunction and needed to drop anchor to prevent from drifting. While suspended in the river, a barge collided with the vehicle sending all passengers into the water. Reports have since surfaced that the crew of the Duck tried to alert the barge of their presence but a mate on the river barge had not been present to perform the duties of a lookout. This is the latest incident involving the amphibious vehicles which many believe to be a risk to passengers, especially given the vehicles were mainly used during World War II.

This latest Duck incident could have serious implications for tourism in major cities all the way up to the Pacific Northwest. One of Seattle’s most popular tourist activities is our own “Ride the Ducks.” Since 1998, the Ducks have given tours of the Emerald City year round with the summer months among the most popular. Captains serve as entertainers for their passengers as they point out historical landmarks and tell tales of the city. On more than one occasion last summer I would run along the waterfront only to be passed by a duck boat blasting “Eye of the Tiger” or some other clichéd pump-up song as encouragement for the many runners and bicyclists. Passengers make duck noises, cheer and clap as they pass through the streets and honestly…well they just annoy the rest of us trying to make our way home from work. But the point is, the Ducks are a highly successful and popular ride through the city mixing education and entertainment and despite my faint cynicism, still bring a smile to my face when I see how happy the people are.

Following the Philadelphia tragedy, several cities suspended operations of similar duck boat tours. Ride the Ducks of Seattle continues to operate and boasts an excellent safety record for the their vehicles but it was necessary for the company to respond. They issued the following statement on their Web site in response to the incident:

“Ride the Ducks of Seattle is an independently owned and operated company and we're proud of our safety record. Our thoughts go out to the people involved in the tragic accident in Philadelphia, but we are operating tours as normal today.”

It is uncertain whether the recent accident in Philadelphia has affected the Ride the Ducks of Seattle business but given the circumstances, I have to question the company’s response. On its own, the above statement seems to be the bare minimum the company should have done to communicate its safety record to potential customers and offer sympathy. Of course, they do separate themselves from the incident by declaring independent ownership and do well to boast their safety record, but it’s not enough. If I were in charge of the crisis communication for Ride the Ducks Seattle, I would have done the following in addition to the statement:

• • Suspend business for a day to acknowledge the tragedy and perform maintenance checks on all vehicles.
  • Work with local media to communicate the efforts of the company to ensure passenger safety.
  • Create a fact sheet with statistics about safety (injuries) and maintenance (frequency, scope, etc.).
  • Create a video showcasing the training of crew to ensure the safety of passengers. Crew includes captains, deckhands, mechanics, and others.

Although actions like shutting down tours for an entire day would significantly impact business and raise awareness of the accident, possibly even bringing the safety conversation to the forefront, communicating the steps the organization takes regarding safety would be a proactive step for the business and in the long run would reassure consumers’ faith in the tour company.

What happened last week in Philadelphia is truly a tragedy and my deepest sympathy goes out to the friends and families of those involved in the unfortunate accident. It’s never easy dealing with a crisis and as a communicator even more difficult developing a plan of action following. The Ride the Ducks of Seattle, while not officially linked to the accident in Philadelphia, is still involved based on the similarity of services between the two. The company owes it to its customers to show the steps they take to make their tours safe and unfortunately, I feel a basic statement at the top of their Web site just does not do the job.