When Customer Frustration Becomes a Brand Problem

Alicia Rieniets shares what she learned about customer sentiment, trust and crisis management while helping lead communications during one of the most challenging periods in Australia Post's history.

Australia Post spends months preparing for Christmas. Entire teams work year-round to ensure Australians receive their presents on time. Forecasts are built. Capacity is planned. Contingencies are tested. Now imagine Christmas arriving overnight. No planning. No warning. No roadmap.

That was March 2020. As the world entered lockdown and millions of Australians shifted their lives online, parcel volumes surged to levels the network had never experienced before. It wasn't just a little busier. It was the equivalent of Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Click Frenzy, End of Financial Year sales and Christmas arriving all at once. Normally, there would be months to prepare for that kind of demand. This time we had days.

And just as demand exploded, the operating environment became exponentially harder. Planes stopped flying. State borders became increasingly complex. Regulations changed from state to state. Social distancing requirements transformed the way parcels could be sorted and processed.

At the same time, thousands of employees were transitioning to remote work and customer service teams were testing whether systems designed for contact centres could operate from kitchen tables and spare bedrooms. The reality is that customers don't see operational complexity. They see whether their parcel arrived. And when expectations aren't met, customer sentiment can change quickly.

At the height of COVID, our social media team was managing more than 8,000 customer enquiries per week. For context, a typical Christmas peak generated around 4,000. A normal week was closer to 1,500. But it wasn't just the volume that made it challenging. Customer sentiment was unlike anything I had experienced before. People were isolated. They were anxious. They were relying on deliveries for everything from essential items to staying connected with family and friends. And when parcels didn't arrive as quickly as expected, frustration surfaced quickly. Every delayed delivery represented a real person waiting for something important. The pressure on our teams was immense.

It was one of the most challenging periods of my career. It also taught me some of the most valuable lessons about trust, customer sentiment and crisis management. These are the lessons I still use today.

A Crisis Plan Is Not Optional Anymore

One of the biggest misconceptions about reputation management is that it's something you start when a crisis begins. The strongest organisations prepare long before they need to. They know:

• who makes decisions
• who approves responses
• who speaks publicly
• who owns customer communications
• what escalation processes exist
• what agencies or advisors they would call
• and what scenarios they may need to navigate

Because when sentiment is moving quickly, clarity matters. If you don't have a communications crisis plan today, now is the time to build one. It doesn't need to be perfect. But it does need to exist.

When Sentiment Turns, Silence Creates the Story

When brands come under pressure, the instinct is often to retreat. Wait for the conversation to pass. Hope people move on. Unfortunately, silence creates a vacuum.

And customers are very good at filling vacuums with their own assumptions. If customers are talking about your brand, the worst thing you can do is pretend the conversation isn't happening. Entering the conversation doesn't mean becoming defensive. It means listening, acknowledging concerns and demonstrating that the organisation is paying attention.

But responding to comments is only one part of the response. Organisations should also review their broader communications activity. Are scheduled social media posts still appropriate? Should marketing campaigns continue as planned? Could promotional messages be making the situation worse? One of the first questions I ask during a crisis is whether the current content and media plan is helping or hurting. Because if customer sentiment is already negative, business-as-usual marketing can unintentionally fuel the fire. A brand celebrating itself while customers are frustrated rarely ends well.

Sometimes the right decision is to adjust the messaging. Sometimes it's to pause scheduled content. And sometimes it's to stop paid media activity altogether until the organisation has regained control of the situation. Every communication should be viewed through the lens of customer sentiment. The goal isn't simply to keep publishing content. The goal is to ensure every communication helps rebuild trust rather than undermine it. Because when sentiment is already negative, the wrong message doesn't just miss the mark. It magnifies the issue.

Think Carefully About the Customers Already Affected

One lesson I've carried with me throughout my career is that not every customer should receive the same communication, particularly during a crisis. If a customer has an unresolved complaint, open case or active issue with your organisation, the last thing they want is a promotional email, acquisition campaign or brand message pretending everything is business as usual. It doesn't feel personalised. It feels disconnected.

Some of the most customer-centric organisations I've worked with have long recognised this. Customers experiencing issues should be treated differently. Not because you're hiding the problem. Because you're acknowledging it.

That often means creating exclusion lists for customers with open complaints, active escalations or unresolved service issues. Those customers receive support, updates and resolution-focused communications rather than standard marketing activity. The lists should be refreshed regularly and closely connected to customer service teams. The goal is simple. Don't make a frustrated customer more frustrated.

One of the biggest mistakes organisations make during a crisis is focusing on the public narrative while overlooking the customers already affected. Those customers need care before they need marketing. Technology and AI are making this easier to execute than ever before. But the principle isn't new. Great customer experience has always been about understanding what a customer needs in that moment and responding accordingly. Sometimes the most effective marketing decision is knowing when not to market.

Social Media Is Often the First Warning Signal

One of the biggest mistakes organisations make is waiting for a crisis to appear in the media. Most crises show up much earlier. They appear in:

• social media comments
• customer complaints
• review sites
• NPS feedback
• call centre conversations
• store interactions

Long before they make headlines. The smartest organisations treat these signals as an early warning system. But it's not just about monitoring volume. It's about understanding what is driving the volume.

• What topics are customers talking about?
• What themes are emerging?
• What frustrations are repeating?
• Which conversations are growing faster than normal?

An increase in customer contact is often the first sign that something has changed. At Australia Post, we weren't simply looking at the number of enquiries. We were looking for patterns. Were customers talking about delivery delays? A specific state? A particular facility? A service disruption? Understanding what was driving sentiment helped us identify issues earlier and respond faster. The goal isn't simply to monitor complaints. The goal is to identify emerging issues before they become crisis points. Because by the time an issue reaches mainstream media, it has often been visible inside customer feedback for days or weeks.

Sometimes You Need a Bigger Platform Than Social

Not every issue should be managed one customer at a time. Sometimes the volume of concern becomes so significant that organisations need to address the broader narrative. During COVID, I wasn't simply monitoring customer sentiment. I was analysing what customers were actually concerned about. The themes became clear. Customers were asking:

• Why is my parcel going to Queensland when it was sent from Melbourne to Melbourne?
• Why has my parcel been returned to sender?
• Why is delivery taking so long?
• Is Express Post still worth paying for?

The data coming from social media, customer service and complaints gave us a clear picture of what customers needed explained. We then used that insight to shape our communications strategy. Through a combination of PR, paid media and owned channels, we helped customers understand what was happening behind the scenes.

We explained that parcels were sometimes being diverted through different sorting facilities because capacity constraints meant that wasn't always the most direct route. We reminded customers to check that their delivery addresses were up to date with their favourite retailers. We shared the challenges of operating large sorting facilities under social distancing requirements. We explained the impact of grounded aircraft, changing state regulations and disrupted transport networks. And we reinforced that Express Post remained the fastest way to send parcels because of how it was prioritised operationally within the network.

Most importantly, we thanked Australians for their patience. The goal wasn't to defend Australia Post. The goal was to help customers understand what was happening. Because when customers understand the context, they are often far more willing to extend trust. Sometimes the best way to reduce frustration isn't another response. It's a better explanation.

Focus on What You Can Control

One of the biggest leadership lessons I learned during COVID was accepting that some problems couldn't be solved immediately. We couldn't make planes fly. We couldn't remove border restrictions. We couldn't eliminate social distancing requirements inside sorting facilities. And we couldn't instantly create more capacity across the network. What we could control was how we responded. We could communicate clearly. We could provide updates. We could explain what customers should expect. We could acknowledge frustration. And we could make sure teams had the information they needed to support customers. In any crisis, leaders can waste a lot of energy focusing on things outside their control. The most effective organisations focus on the things they can influence. Because customers don't expect perfection. They expect honesty, transparency and action.

Your Team Needs One Version of the Truth

Customers don't care which team owns the issue. To them, there is only one brand.

One of the first things I'd recommend is establishing a dedicated crisis team with representatives from across the organisation. Depending on the issue, that might include:

• operations
• customer service
• social media
• marketing
• communications
• legal
• technology
• leadership

Every one of those teams will be seeing a different part of the story. Operations may be identifying the root cause. Customer service may be hearing the same complaint repeatedly. Social media may be seeing sentiment shift in real time. Media teams may be managing journalist enquiries. Without coordination, it's easy for different teams to start working from different information. That's where confusion begins. The strongest organisations establish a single source of truth that can be shared across leadership, customer service, social media teams, agency partners and frontline employees. Everyone should know:

• what has happened
• what is being done about it
• what customers are being told
• what questions are emerging
• and what the next steps are

Consistency builds confidence. Confusion erodes trust.

Create a Crisis Rhythm

During the height of a crisis, information becomes quickly outdated. What was true at 8 am may no longer be true by lunchtime. One of the most valuable practices we established was a regular cadence of updates. Morning. Noon. Night.

Reviewing:

• customer sentiment
• media coverage
• complaint volumes
• operational updates
• emerging risks
• actions taken
• next steps

The goal was simple. Ensure everyone was working from the same information. Because one of the fastest ways to lose control of a crisis is for different parts of the organisation to be working from different versions of the truth.

Look After Your People

Every crisis creates pressure. Customers feel it. Leaders feel it. But so do frontline teams. During COVID, our social media, customer service and operational teams were dealing with unprecedented demand while navigating the same uncertainty everyone else was experiencing in their personal lives. The pressure was relentless. One of the most important lessons I learned was that if you want your people to take care of customers, you need to take care of your people first. Check in regularly. Provide clear direction. Celebrate wins. Rotate workloads where possible. And remember that behind every customer interaction is a human being doing their best under difficult circumstances. The health of your team is often the foundation of your response.

Know When to Bring in Experts

Not every issue requires external support. But some do. If conversation volume is escalating, media interest is increasing, stakeholders are becoming involved, or you can no longer regain control of the narrative, it may be time to bring in additional expertise. Strong leaders know when a situation requires more support than the organisation can provide internally. The right advisors can help organisations move faster, avoid costly mistakes and navigate complex situations with greater confidence.

Listen for the Positive Signals Too

Most organisations use social listening to identify problems. I did too. I was tracking delivery delays, complaint volumes, emerging issues and the topics driving customer frustration. But amongst the complaints, we noticed something unexpected.

A very different conversation was beginning to emerge.

Across Australia, people were sharing stories of kindness. Neighbours helping neighbours. Communities supporting each other. Frontline workers being recognised for the role they were playing during lockdown. The Kindness Pandemic was gaining momentum as a grassroots movement across the country. As we listened more closely, we discovered Australians were also sharing stories about their local posties. Leaving thank-you notes. Leaving snacks. Leaving small gifts.

Recognising the role they were playing in keeping families, businesses and communities connected during one of the most challenging periods in recent history. One of the many expressions of that gratitude became Thank a Postie. What made it so powerful wasn't that Australia Post created the conversation. Customers did. We simply recognised it and helped amplify it. After months of dealing with unprecedented demand, operational pressure and customer frustration, those stories had an enormous impact internally. They lifted the mood of our teams. They reminded people why their work mattered. And they gave exhausted frontline employees something positive to rally around. One of the lessons I've never forgotten is that social listening shouldn't only be used to identify what's broken. It should also be used to identify what's working. Because positive sentiment doesn't just rebuild trust externally. It rebuilds confidence internally too.

Use the Crisis to Strengthen the System

Once customer sentiment stabilises and the headlines fade, the work isn't finished. In many ways, this is where some of the most important work begins. Every crisis leaves clues. What worked? What didn't? Where did approvals slow down? What information was missing? Which teams were underprepared? What decisions would you make differently next time?

The strongest organisations take the time to capture those lessons and update their crisis plans accordingly. Because the reality is that people move on. Leaders change roles. Teams evolve. Agencies change. And if knowledge only exists in the heads of the people who managed the crisis, it can disappear surprisingly quickly. That's why crisis plans should be living documents. Updated regularly. Reviewed regularly. And easily accessible when needed. A crisis plan locked away in a folder at head office isn't much use when people are working remotely or trying to respond quickly under pressure.

It should be digital, current and available to the people who need it. It's also important to regularly bring together the people who would be involved in managing a crisis. Not just to review the plan, but to test it. Discuss scenarios. Identify gaps. And ensure everyone understands their role.

One lesson I learned is that every critical role should have a backup. People take leave. People get sick. People leave organisations. If a key decision-maker or subject matter expert is unavailable, someone else needs to be ready to step in. The organisations that respond best to a crisis aren't necessarily the ones with the most sophisticated plans. They're the ones that have practised them. Because when a crisis arrives, you're not building the system. You're relying on it.

Rebuilding Trust Requires More Than Solving the Problem

As customer sentiment began to stabilise, we learned another important lesson. Recovery isn't simply about reducing complaints. It's about rebuilding trust. Fixing operational issues is important. Responding to customers is important.

Providing updates is important. But eventually organisations need to move beyond managing the problem and start rebuilding confidence.

One of the campaigns that was developed during that period was “Dear Australia”. A national letter-writing initiative that invited Australians to document their experiences, reflections and hopes during the pandemic. The letters were collected and placed into a time capsule for future generations. What made the campaign special was that it reflected something much bigger than Australia Post. It captured a moment in Australian history.

At a time when families were separated, communities were isolated and much of the country had paused, Australians were finding new ways to stay connected.

Australia Post had become one of the services helping make those connections possible. “Dear Australia” wasn't a time for chest-beating. It wasn't about telling Australians how important Australia Post was. It was a quiet acknowledgement of the role the organisation had played during one of the most significant events in modern Australian history. Take a look at the campaign here:

One of the biggest lessons I took away from that period is that trust isn't always rebuilt through statements and explanations. Sometimes trust is rebuilt by reminding people why your organisation exists in the first place. By reconnecting people to purpose.

By recognising the role your organisation plays in people's lives. And by demonstrating that you understand what matters most to the communities you serve. Because rebuilding trust isn't just about solving problems. It's about restoring confidence in the relationship.

Why Customer Sentiment Matters More Than Ever

One thing has changed dramatically since COVID. The importance of customer sentiment. In 2020, customer sentiment influenced what people said about your brand. Today, it increasingly influences what technology says about your brand too. Every review. Every complaint. Every customer story. Every media article. Every social conversation. They all contribute to the digital footprint that customers and increasingly AI systems use to understand your organisation. That's why monitoring sentiment should never be viewed as a crisis activity.

It's a business discipline. The organisations that consistently listen, learn and respond to customer feedback build stronger trust over time. The organisations that ignore it often discover that negative sentiment compounds. What started as a customer experience issue becomes a reputation issue. Then a growth issue. And increasingly, an AI visibility issue.

One of the concepts I've written about previously is the AI Trust Index. The idea that trust is becoming a measurable competitive advantage in an AI-driven world. Brands with strong customer sentiment, positive advocacy and trusted reputations are more likely to be recommended, referenced and chosen. The lesson hasn't changed. Listen early. Respond thoughtfully. Fix the root cause. Rebuild trust. What's changed is the cost of getting it wrong. Because customer sentiment no longer lives only in the minds of customers. It increasingly lives in the systems helping customers make decisions.

Final Thought

Every organisation should assume that at some point customer sentiment will turn against them. The question isn't whether it will happen. The question is whether you're prepared when it does. If you don't have a crisis response plan today, build one. It doesn't need to be perfect. But it does need to exist. Know who will lead. Know who will communicate. Know how decisions will be made. Know how customer sentiment will be monitored. And know how your teams will work together when the pressure arrives. Because when a crisis arrives is not the time to start designing the process. It's the time to execute it. The brands that recover fastest aren't necessarily the ones that avoid mistakes. They're the ones that prepare for them.

If you'd like to hear more about my experience managing customer sentiment during COVID at Australia Post, I shared the story on the Your Digital Reputation podcast.

About the Author

Alicia Rieniets is a transformational marketing leader and founder of CMO On Call, helping organisations build marketing that works harder, grows stronger and is ready for what comes next. With more than 20 years of experience across brands including Australia Post, Ford, Bupa and UniSuper, Alicia specialises in customer strategy, brand transformation, trust, loyalty and helping businesses navigate change.