In June 2010, we discussed how a complaint about a hotel stay may get more attention and better results if it is communicated through social media. Today, we are going to visit the power of Twitter in solving guest complaints or customer issues in the restaurant settings. Here is an example:
A guest checked in at Wow Bao, an upscale fast food restaurant in Chicago. He saw some negative reviews of the place and tweeted: “Going to ‘business dinner (at) Wow Bao. Can any1 tell me if its going to suck as much reviews suggests.” Soon, he received an almost immediate response from the restaurant --- two $15 gift cards via an iPhone app, encouraging him to try it out by himself. The next night, this guest ate at Wow Bao and posted pictures of the food on Twitter.
According to Wow Bao’s Twitter commitment: “If somebody has 1,000 followers and writes a negative Tweet about Wow Bao, then 1,000 people could think the restaurant is bad. But if Wow Bao publicly responds to that Tweet, 1,000 people may see the issue is being handled.” That’s true, why some people or companies still refuse to use Facebook or Twitter? No matter if these people like it or not, they are going to be discussed by somebody somewhere in social media.
The good news is many restaurants are now paying more attention to customer communications through social media. Some restaurant chains like Chipotle and Pei Wei even hire full-time social media employees to maintain an active communications between the company and customers. Wow Bao uses BaoMouth to feed Twitter comments. What tools does your company use to manage customers’ comments on social media?
References:
Serena Dai at the Associated Press: http://tinyurl.com/linchikwok09272010
Picture was downloaded from Yelpsay via: http://tinyurl.com/linchikwok09272010P
A guest checked in at Wow Bao, an upscale fast food restaurant in Chicago. He saw some negative reviews of the place and tweeted: “Going to ‘business dinner (at) Wow Bao. Can any1 tell me if its going to suck as much reviews suggests.” Soon, he received an almost immediate response from the restaurant --- two $15 gift cards via an iPhone app, encouraging him to try it out by himself. The next night, this guest ate at Wow Bao and posted pictures of the food on Twitter. According to Wow Bao’s Twitter commitment: “If somebody has 1,000 followers and writes a negative Tweet about Wow Bao, then 1,000 people could think the restaurant is bad. But if Wow Bao publicly responds to that Tweet, 1,000 people may see the issue is being handled.” That’s true, why some people or companies still refuse to use Facebook or Twitter? No matter if these people like it or not, they are going to be discussed by somebody somewhere in social media.
The good news is many restaurants are now paying more attention to customer communications through social media. Some restaurant chains like Chipotle and Pei Wei even hire full-time social media employees to maintain an active communications between the company and customers. Wow Bao uses BaoMouth to feed Twitter comments. What tools does your company use to manage customers’ comments on social media?
References:
Serena Dai at the Associated Press: http://tinyurl.com/linchikwok09272010
Picture was downloaded from Yelpsay via: http://tinyurl.com/linchikwok09272010P
I personally found this post to be really interesting. I recently just started using a twitter account and I love it. Being able to post short little statements for my friends to see and read. This is a really smart idea for restaurants and small businesses to do because its a simple way to connect with the customers. There are millions of twitter users in the world and if just a few people complain about your establishment a few thousand people could see the complaint within a second, bringing down the reputation of your place of business. I feel that companies would benefit a lot by providing celebrities discounts via twitter because the people with the most followers are in fact the celebrities, and if a celebrity was to give a rave review or comment about your establishment business would flow in at a very quick pace.
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