Praise for PR

PR people. It seems to be a subject that divides bloggers. I really had no idea PR reps had well, such a bad rep. Earlier today I saw a genuine discussion about PR companies turn fairly sour within minutes. There was no aggression intended but it seemed even the mere mention of PR reps sparks a defensive side in some!

Of course it's down to the individual experience and for every 10 good stories there will always be one bad.

Well listen to my tale.

Last Monday was the National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day. A day for grieving parents and supportive friends to come together to share in their pain and remember all the angel babies.

At 7pm the world was encouraged to light a candle in remembrance for the Wave of Light campaign. At 7pm I lit candles for those I know who have lost babies too soon and for those I have met through twitter.

My twitter feed was bursting with heartbreaking photos being posted of candles, 2,3,4 and 5 candles together and older siblings holding a candle for their lost brothers or sisters. I was moved to tears until I saw a tweet pop up amongst the sadness that made me almost boil over with rage.

BabyCentre who describe themselves as the world's number one pregnancy and parenting destination reaching over 25 million Mums in 22 markets every month, with 79 per cent of new and expecting mums online each month, with one in five expecting mums online visit BabyCentre every day, tweeted "Who's ready to party?"

They were hosting a twitter party discussing various parenting issues later that evening. At first I couldn't believe it, that surely they wouldn't say something so inappropriate, so insensitive and thoughtless, that surely they would delete it. No it stayed there all evening until the twitter party started and it got lost amongst hundreds of tweets.

I was so overwhelmed by my outrage that they could be so offensive that I went straight to their website found the contact details for their PR Agency and left an emotional and slightly rambling voicemail on their office answer phone.

To my amazement they rang me back. I had a lovely conversation with an eloquent and helpful woman who immediately admitted their big mistake and sincerely apologised. She explained it was an automatic tweet and they too, realised after it was too late.

The representative couldn't have done better to reassure me of their commitment to supporting parents and actually thanked me for highlighting the issue. That they welcome comments and feedback and would much rather people let them know they were unhappy.

I was really impressed at the way she dealt with my complaint and as one of the 79% of expectant Mums who used their site religiously during both pregnancies, I am convinced of their respect for expectant and new parents and despite being a global resource they acknowledge and listen to the little people like me.

Do you have a PR tale with a happy ending?