Your Customers are armed with a Media Arsenal

Why Should You Care About Twitter

I have heard the line from sportsman, Fish Where the Fish Are, and that also rings true for Social Media Fishing. Perhaps that seems self explanatory, however when we talk to small and mid size business they frequently question the validity of twitter, and sometimes rightfully so, who cares what someone is doing right?

Well, if it is your taco shop, (insert any business) you just gained a whole lot of free marketing, and customer loyalty as outlined in the below listed post

This was posted by one of our bloggers over at The Urbane Life Blog, and it really illustrates just how a Twitter Exchange occurs. The general gist is the blogger, Erica Finley is a really passionate and frequent patron of Qdoba, and she knew something wasn’t right. But the whole underlying piece here is how quickly you can get valuable information from your core customers, IF You Are Listening.

Here is part of the story, and the Twitter Exchange

On a seemingly ordinary visit to the Royal Oak location, I ordered my chicken 3-Cheese Nachos, just as I have during my past trips to the famous Mexican grill. But instead of ladling the queso goodness into the bowl as they always have, the staff member put it in a tiny cup typically reserved for guacamole, put the tortilla chips in the bowl, and proceeded to pile the chicken and shredded cheese on top of the chips.

My deer-in-headlights reaction was reflexive and impossible to hide. I felt betrayed. How could my beloved Qdoba so callously change one of their signature dishes, the very reason I became so loyal in the first place?

For those without the inside scoop, there have always been two ways to order your nachos: chips on the side, with all of your ingredients in a separate bowl (i.e. the right way), or the all-in-one approach, with the queso, salsa, meat and other toppings poured over the top. I had always rejected this option, as it is more difficult to eat and results in soggy chips.

But this new set-up was a violation of both options. I easily got less than half of the queso that I typically did, and it required me to dip a chip covered in chicken and shredded cheese into a tiny cup of melted cheese. It was a mess.

I immediately but politely questioned the new method. The manager apologized profusely and said he had already experienced a backlash from other customers. He said it was a corporate decision to construct them differently, and his hands were tied.

And so I did what any social media enthusiast would do – I turned to Twitter for help.

Note The Twitter Exchange

Another thing to remember friends, Your Customers are armed with a Media Arsenal, cameras, cell phones, videos and laptops and can distribute and augment content in a flash as you will note below;

I was already following @QdobaMexGrill and knew the staff member who manages the account was Doug. So I tweeted my plea, complete with a Twitpic of my meal for evidence:

Doug responded less than two hours later, at almost 10 p.m.

To which I responded:

Doug responded to my tweet with a direct message. Note the time: 11:49 p.m.

My response:

I had also taken to the Qdoba corporate Facebook page to express my frustrations in a tongue-in-cheek, but to-the-point “letter” to Qdoba.

It was there that Doug kept me updated on the progress of the issue. On December 4, I was told that he had forwarded my issue to the Operations Team, who would determine how to address the problem. Then on December 9, I was informed that a communication was sent to all of the Michigan restaurants the week prior, instructing stores to continue honoring “chips on the side,” at the request of its guests.

On December 12, I decided to test the Royal Oak location. I was skeptical. What if they hadn’t gotten the memo?

Lo and behold, it was back to business as usual, and the glorious meal I had grown to know and love was mine once more. I tweeted to Doug about my enthusiasm:

Just a few short hours later, a response.

It was definitely in the company’s best interests to resolve my issue. Losing me as a brand ambassador would mean lost revenue, not to mention the damage that might be done by word-of-mouth both online and off if I shared my story.

But they didn’t have to help me. And they did. Which means they get it. They understand the tremendous customer service power that Twitter houses, and how providing value to followers on the site helps build the Qdoba brand. Just one of many shining examples of a company using social media to get things done.

Follow Qdoba Mexican Grill on Twitter @QdobaMexGrill.