OTOH, an establishment might use the simple truth to mislead consumers. They would claim that there is nothing essentially wrong with their kashrus, it was ‘merely’ a minor dispute. Customers might then mistakenly be lured into eating at an establishment with no hashgacha at all, even if only temporarily.
Then even worse, the hashgachas would lose their only weapon for ‘punishing’ kashrus violations (even serious ones) – the threat of removing certification.
They have to keep all certification removals a purposefully scary event where no one really knows whether to trust the establishment
Maybe. Just theorizing, not justifying.