SEATTLE – The speed at which a Starbucks incident escalated into full-blown public relations crisis provides a huge learning opportunity for retailers, reports Fastcasual.com. For starters: The influence of social media cannot be underestimated; no business is exempt from comments or criticism, and online reviews are treated with growing respect.

Starbucks made headlines worldwide in April when a Twitter user, Melissa DePino, filmed and live-tweeted two African-American men being handcuffed and escorted from a Philadelphia Starbucks because they didn’t make a purchase. The pair said they were waiting for a friend to join them and asked to use the restroom while waiting. They were told, “No,” and were then asked to leave by the store’s manager.

DePino’s 11,800 Twitter followers shared her video with others, and now it has been viewed almost 200,000 times. The following day, the store, which until that time had no negative reviews, received 334 negative reviews on its Facebook page. Two days later, that number jumped to 1,210.

Immediately after the incident, Starbucks’ public relations department went into overdrive. The company’s CEO expressed deep remorse for what had happened and announced that the stores would close for one day of “racial-bias training.” Starbucks wanted to right its wrongs and show customers it valued each person who walked through the doors. The chain now has a policy that makes its facilities and seating available to everyone, whether or not they are paying customers.

Instead of hoping a crisis never occurs, retailers should prepare for controversy by engaging with customers, living where they live online and answering their questions. If an incident does occur, respond to it quickly and publicly, and be genuine in your efforts to make things right again.