Even the nations sweethearts Holly Willoughby and Philip Scofield don’t seem to be immune to cancel culture. If you have not seen the news they are accused of jumping the queue to pay their respects to Her Majesty The Queen.
Their explanation of a legitimate press visit did not seem to resonate well with the British public, especially when a story did not seem to be forthcoming. It was also pointed out that Holly and Phil don’t normally venture outside the studio to go on location.
All this must be very distressing for the pair and I am not one to judge them, however, it does make me think about how easy it is to get ‘cancelled’ nowadays and what we can do to avoid it.
People have an strong sense of fair play and we can spot bulls**t a mile away. Even if you provide a fantastic service and everything is well priced, one tiny extra dubious charge on a menu or invoice can destroy credibility in seconds. Costs are going up and business is getting harder but it’s just not worth destroying your reputation for a few extra quid. I recently heard of a restaurant that charged a small fee for every time a waiter went to table!
It’s also so easy for us to use extreme labels for things, people and businesses. Fantastic, amazing, the best. Terrible, rubbish, the worst.
It seems that when things ‘flip’ it’s fast and brutal. From the best to the worst or from fantastic to rubbish. Most of us follow the crowd which is fantastic when you are on the up but not good in the way down. Once the crowd turns its downhill all the way.
We all have the possibility of being cancelled as a business or person and the best way to avoid it is honesty, integrity and value for money. No short cuts and don’t try to jump the queue.
