Gear issue, some decision making and a bit of shake and stir on a large flying machine at high altitude. If even half of what I've read is true it will make a mockery of whoever handed them an award of safest airline for the year.
"I definitely think the delay in telling people what was going on created an element of stress."
Would the passengers prefer the pilots talk to them before dealing with a problem that could be time critical, or just spend time fixing the issue and report to the passengers what happened when the critical part is done. I know I'd prefer my pilots work on the flying and troubleshooting rather than waste time on PA, with bells and whistles going off in the background.