143: How One Email Brutally Destroyed a Business Overnight: The Ava Lane Boutique TikTok Takedown

When an email meant for one person goes to the wrong person. It can be a disaster. When that email goes viral because the unintended recipient shared it to TikTok -- it was a reputation teardown.

When a recent college graduate named Gracie Lorincz from Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, applied for a position as an ambassador for clothing boutique Ava Lane, she found out it was unlikely she'd get the job because the VP of the company replied in an email that she was "not that cute."

That email was intended for the owner of Ava Lane, the wife of the VP, Laura DeGrendel.  Instead, it went back to Lorincz. What happened next was a TiKTok takedown.

In this episode, a timeline for this TikTok takedown. What to do when your business unintentionally goes viral in a very bad way.  

1.  The backstory behind the email

2.  Ava Lane's poor PR response

3.  How to manage a digital crisis. 

Mentioned on the podcast:

• Gracie Lorincz (@ggggmoneyyyy) TikTok video about the email from Ava Lane.
• Ava Lane Boutique Facebook Live Following “Not That Cute” Email TikTok
• Stephanie Elsea on the Confident Communications podcast. 

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© Molly McPherson 2021 

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