Reputation Gurus

I ordinarily keep my blog postings focused on corporate reputation management, but today is a bit different, so forgive the brief rant. 

Journalists cover controversy and scandal, and sometimes one has to wonder just who cares that Lindsay Lohan ran a red traffic light or that a senior executive at a publicly traded company had an extra-marital affair with a famous journalist.  Case in point … some of yesterday’s (and this morning’s) news in the US focused on the allegation that Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton forgot to tip the waitress at a restaurant in Iowa.

Regardless of your political leanings, this is simply not news.  Of course, Hillary should have tipped her waitress, but one can imagine how that might be an oversight when you’re running for president.

And, that’s why I say, “Hooray for Anita Esterday.”  Anita is that waitress who got stiffed by Hillary.  She’s a waitress at the Maid-Rite diner in Iowa.  And here’s how she responded to the media questions about her lack of tip:  “There’s kids dying in the war, the price of oil right now — there’s better things in this world to be thinking about than who served Hillary Clinton at Maid-Rite and who got a tip and who didn’t get a tip.”

Amen.