Many gas stations, hotels, grocery stores, and other businesses in Texas raised their prices immediately due to Hurricane Ike. As travelers and refugees fled the storm and sought food and shelter, these companies took advantage of the catastrophe to generate extra profit.

Enter the reputation crisis. Hundreds to thousands of complaints are flowing in to government regulatory services who have pledged to investigate every single claim of price gouging, now known as the Ike Spike. Corporate America beware: a disgruntled, ignored customer is a vengeful customer. Customers know that the only real power they hold is word of mouth.

This is basic common sense. Don’t take advantage of people during a crisis. The organizations who truly contribute and help are honored and remembered and praised for years to come. Price gougers reap the opposite affect, villified in oral history (and Google indexes) for generations to come.

If you are a company accused and/or guilty of price gouging, take immediate action. Utilizing a reputation monitoring tool/professional, locate the people who are upset and discussing your business. Contact them in any and every way possible and make a public attempt to right all wrongs. This will go far in repairing your reputation. Every company makes mistakes. But a crisis can only be averted if you respond quickly and thoroughly. It takes much more time and effort to right a wrong than to avoid it in the first place. But those who take the time to repay or assist those wronged will see the rewards.

Remember, reputation is everything, and it lasts forever.

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