Loblaw is making a bad situation worse

It’s perhaps time that someone in the field of crisis management introduced the leadership of Loblaw Cos. Ltd. to the Law of Holes.

The law, which is undeniably sensible and has been attributed to several authorities, states that “if you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.”

It was bad enough that the supermarket chain admitted participation in a price-fixing arrangement for bread between 2001 and 2015.

No product is more venerated, in lore and Scripture, as a staple. The bread of life, manna from heaven and all that.

In the shop-keeping trade, few sins could be more appalling than shafting patrons on such a basic commodity.

At some point, Loblaw plainly recognized this publicrelations disaster. It announced that $25 gift cards would be issued to customers in partial compensation for 14 years of price-fixing.

Now, the company seems to be making a hash of even that peace offering.

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada has launched an investigation into complaints that Loblaw is requiring customers to provide personal information in order to claim their cards.

The commissioner will look at whether Loblaw violated a federal act protecting the privacy of Canadians when it asked some customers to send a copy of a utility bill or driver’s licence via email or post in order to claim the card.

A spokesperson for the company said it was trying to avoid paying fraudulent claims. “Our plan to distribute tens of millions of dollars is a natural target for fraudsters,” explained Kevin Groh.

It does take a bit of chutzpah to cast such broad aspersions on the public while overseeing a program launched as a result of one’s own deceit.

The privacy commissioner’s website says a driver’s licence is sensitive information valuable “to those intent on committing identity crimes” and retailers need to exercise restraint in asking for it. The company, in turn, said it did not intend to turn its misdeeds to profit by using personal information for other commercial purposes.

And, after complaints arose, Groh said the company will not insist on a licence, but accept any ID that shows name and address of claimants. The information, he said, “will be collected through a secure channel, verified, then destroyed.”

Properly so. But much more of this ham-handedness in the case of the over-priced bread and Loblaw is apt to find its reputation to be, well, toast.

(This editorial was published March 15 in the Toronto Star and distributed by The Canadian Press)