Question

Case Study

Terror at the Taj Bombay: Customer-Centric Leadership

The night of November 26, 2008, 10 armed individuals from the terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba (Army of the Righteous) entered the western-Indian city of Mumbai (formerly Bombay) to attack pre-determined locations, including the Taj MahalPalace and Tower (Taj Bombay). Over three nights and two days, terrorists killed 159 people and wounded 211 across the city. Of these, 34 people died and 28 were injured during the three-day siege of the Taj Bombay. The attacks, which became known in India as “26/11”, had a dramatic and lasting impact on the Indian national psyche.

However, the Taj Bombay received praise in the aftermath of the attach- specifically from hotel guests-for the quick-thinking actions of hotel staff to ensure the safety of hotel guests at the expense of their own personal safety. In addition to managing the emotional and psychological challenges of moving forward after the loss of employees and extensive physical da1nage to the hotel, senior executives wondered if the Taj brand would survive. Images of the Taj Bombay under attack were reprinted in newspapers and shown on television news stations worldwide. Executives had to decide when -and if -to re-open the hotel, whether to continue to use the Taj brand name, and what message to send out to consumers. The risk was to be viewed as insensitive by either avoiding the tragedy completely in their messages to the public or being seen as taking advantage of public sympathy in talking about the tragedy, and in deciding the right time to return to "business as usual" at the Taj Bombay.

1. What specific actions do you take in both the short-term and long-term in rebuilding the Taj brand name?
2. What would you do to recover from "being the living image of the terrorist attack" as Ratan Tata describes it? Is this even possible?

Answer 1

In my opinion, below short-term and long-term actions should be taken in rebuilding the Taj brand name:

1. Rebuiding the brand name is one of the actions that should be taken. The brand name must be the same in the minds of people as it was before the attack and the hotel must take all possible measures to uplift it.

2. Connecting with the customers again and reassuring them that the hotel was as safe as before and that they should come and stay at the hotel and let the staff show their hospitality to them.

3. Offer free nights and free services to people in order to show solidarity and rebuild the brand image. People will gain confidence in the hotel slowly and steadily and get to stay there once they get reassurance from them that hotel is safe and sound.

4. Show advertisements and promote Taj brand by both offline and online marketing as well. This will lead to brand recall in the minds of people and also increase brand value. Moreover brand ambassadors could be engaged to help reconnect brand with people.

In my opinion, if all these above initiatives are properly taken then Taj Bombay could recover from "being the living image of the terrorist attack" as Ratan Tata describes it. The hotel must engage in all such activities to redevelop brand image among its customers.