Esther Steinfeld is the public relations manager for Blinds.com, the premier online retailer of custom window treatments.

Recall a few weeks back when Spin Sucks featured a post called “How ‘No Comment’ Has Edelman in Trouble.” It revealed how both Edelman and Best Buy dropped the ball on having someone on-hand and well-versed to discuss the new video program they were launching. Though the situation could have been handled far better than it was, and it is incumbent on large organizations either giving their people talking points or appoint a spokesperson early on, I was expecting a different article than the one to which I clicked through. I was expecting something more like the one you’re about to read.

As the public relations manager for Blinds.com, I don’t often get a chance to use my crisis communications skills like I would were I working for Nestle or Toyota in the last few years. Sure, window treatment-related emergencies present themselves (“I can’t sleep, it’s too bright in my bedroom!” and “We have odd-shaped windows!”), but as an organization, we don’t often find ourselves in controversial situations. That changed one day after one of the national radio hosts we advertise with made salacious comments live on-air. Members of the media were up in arms, demanding this person’s resignation, and because of our association to the show, we were caught in the middle. I began receiving hateful emails, demanding we revoke sponsorship. I was less than surprised to receive a voicemail from the head writer for an online publication/activist group that “reports” on matters such as this. He just wanted a quote. (more…)