Some days even the best-intended actions can cause a crisis PR. A case in point was Forever 21, the designer apparel store for both men and women, got into a bit of hot water when they caught some social media flack from certain individuals who complained that they received a free Atkins diet bar with their online purchase.

That purchase happened to be swimsuits.

Some folks didn’t take that too well because they thought that Forever 21 stated, in a not so subtle way, that they didn’t have a beach bod. The fact though is that Forever 21 had an agreement with the Atkins Company to send diet bars with every order, every category and every size.

Forever 21 did the best that they could do given the response. They immediately apologized for the oversight. They explained themselves as not wanting to slight anybody, but they understood the fact that people took it as such. They also said that they would look at those kinds of things differently in the future.

Here’s the case in point. Whether you meant to or not, you must empathize with how people are feeling and take action accordingly. It goes back to what I’ve said in countless blogs. Empathy and action is the rule of the day in any crisis PR situation. Forever 21 will move on just fine from this.