This is why bad publicity can really hurt a company's image and should be avoided at all costs. Everyone remembers the article, never the ad. People quote articles and references when talking about companies, no one mentions a companies advertising, unless it is really shocking or award winning. The point here is to try and get more publicity than advertising when deciding where to spend your marketing budget. Sometimes it is better to have bad publicity if you are not getting any publicity at all.
People expect companies to pay or make reparations for their mistakes.
A bad incident should always be used as an opportunity to show the public that your company operates in good faith and is still a good business. This may mean slight losses for your company when you give refunds or waive fees for one quarter, but that is far better than going out of business. Always use any articles where you received good press as marketing materials. Get copies of the article and put them in your media kit or give them to your potential customers. A good article is like paying someone to write great ad copy for you.