Corporate scumbags make brown dog sad.
Well, not one to be outdone, Hartz Mountain recalled nearly 75,000 bags of dog treats. On a Friday. Before a three day weekend. With a late-in-the-day press release. The timestamp on the press release is 10:00PM Eastern Time. (That search will stop working in early October. Sorry.)
This is what I call a dick move.
There is only one reason to issue a press release at 10:00PM on a Friday (or really anytime after lunch on a Friday): because by Monday morning, when most people watch/read/hear the news again, the story will be buried by the latest “Face the Nation” outburst or celebrity faux pas.
Releasing the story on a Friday before a three day weekend? Self-interested sliminess of of the highest order.
I don’t expect this week’s discussion to generate more light than heat: quite the opposite. But this is the place for me to editorialize and for you to chime in.
Why would Hartz bury this story, rather than give pet owners the info they need to protect their pets? Not to mention themselves — people, including children, can get infected from these treats and the press release even mentions that! Think about that: they buried information about something that is unsafe to both people and pets.
I know the motive is money. But seriously, is there no expectation that this sort of short-termed thinking will catch up with them?
Classic use of douche bag PR tactics to appear as if, “well, we told you,” while not really getting the word out and negatively impacting sales. Another reason not to use mass produced products for people or pets! Dick move, indeed!
Epic double face palm, huh? I’m going to have to try that at my next staff meeting.
Years ago, when I was a child, I remember my parents watching on expose’ of Hartz on Sixty Minutes. I didn’t really watch the show and can’t remember the point of the story, but I’ve always gotten a bad feeling when I see Hartz products in my supermarket.
I guess I’m not quite as upset as you because I don’t expect better behavior from companies. My answer to this and other outrages is to buy as little as possible, from small and local companies when available. And yes, the way a company handles inevitable problems is key.
Unfortunately people less cynical than I am may be putting their pets at huge risk when they assume that a product from a big successful company can’t be bad.
My gold standard for company response to potential tragedy, whether or not is truly is their fault, is Tylenol from the 70s (I think) when they pulled everything for the public good (which, btw, is in their corporate mission statement) not knowing if they were at fault or not; they were not bu they did the right thing, unlike Hartz. I, too, avoid Hartz like the plague, anyway Shame on them.
Thank you for sharing this!. I do NOT expect much from companies nowadays… we’ve all witnessed, one way or another, what they are capable of. When earning those quantities of money… many would give blindly in. I feel embarrassed for them.
I totally get the use of Picard’s “double facepalm”! This is exactly how I felt when we had that almost constant rollout of recall after recall. That in itself seems to hint at a story…not enough employees checking the process, old machinery or parts needing replacement, no budget allowed for that. This behavior really has got to stop. And who is going to make them stop it? FDA? Not likely! Ugchhk!
I received an email from a fairly reputable source that said Hartz gave many of those treats to shelters… here is an excerpt:
“I recall a few shelters or rescue groups mentioning receiving some of the free Hartz treats a few weeks back (maybe a month ago or so?). We had received them also, and were in the process of throwing them all out because they seemed old and stale (even though the expiration date wasn’t until April 2011).
I found it odd that I couldn’t find information about this product on the Hartz website – the page had been removed.
Just found out today about the recall on these treats due to possible salmonella, AND OUR DONATED SHIPMENT FROM HARTZ IS PART OF THE RECALL. I am just disgusted over this. Our rescues would not eat these treats, which, in addition to them smelling old/stale, led me to believe there was something wrong with them. Then, seeing that Hartz had removed the webpage on this particular treat made me more suspicious. Now, the recall, and it all makes sense.”
As if I really needed any MORE reason to avoid Hartz like the plague.
Wow. Total dick move.
HARTZ is in a heap of trouble with the public in general.
Because they are failing to deal with all their issues in a above board manner–they may end up losing any leverage they have gained over the years as a brand.
I am not sure if they will recover in this day of instant access and social streams of networking.
Just check out the Hartz Victim website if you have any doubts:
==>>http://www.hartzvictims.org/