Sometimes, companies face a difficult battle when attempting to take down “complaint” sites on the Internet where disgruntled customers and employees take their grievances to the public. When the “complaint” site is engaged in commercial activity, Federal trademark infringement, dilution and trade libel laws may protect a company against disparaging use of corporate names and trademarks and confusing domain names. However, when the purpose of the disparagement is solely customer complaint and parody, these laws will provide far less protection.
Archive for September, 2006
When customers don’t complain
September 29, 2006The result of not hearing from your customers is that in most markets which are competitive, you may have problems that you never learn about because customers will simply go down the street to your competitor. They will not tell you about problems. Slowly, your business melts away and you have no idea why,” Stephens says.
See Full article http://knowledge.wpcarey.asu.edu/index.cfm?fa=viewArticle&id=1303
Free Burgers Whenever you want
September 21, 2006Someone figured out how to hack a Burger King coupon
http://hsojeel.wordpress.com/2006/09/20/free-whoppers-whenever-you-want/
Some patrons want restaurants to turn down the volume
September 16, 2006
Hip and trendy restaurants encourage buzz. Loud conversation and music are considered mood enhancers, and young customers, especially, equate din with good times. Sometimes that is exactly what you want. But when the buzz becomes a roar and you have to yell at your table mates, then there’s a problem.
See Full Article http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06232/714372-51.stm
(Marlene Parrish can be reached at mparrish@post-gazette.com or 412-481-1620. )
Restaurants can build loyalty by keeping focus on customers
September 15, 2006It has been estimated that loyal customers account for approximately 70 percent of all purchases. In fact, research across numerous industries has demonstrated that increasing customer retention by a mere 5 percentage points can increase profits by more than 65 percent and growth by more than 100 percent.
Since most guests have some expectations of the restaurants they frequent, many restaurants often promise to provide an excellent customer experience. If these expectations are met and promises kept, loyal customers are the result. In order to keep promises, operators must concretely define the specific experience they want to create for customers and then create that experience.
Read the whole article by Steven Shlemon http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/2006/05/08/focus7.html
Photograph your lunch, get feedback
September 15, 2006Sprint is offering a new way to use your camera phone – its MyFoodPhone service will let users take photos of their breakfast, lunch or dinner (or all three!) and send the photos off to a nutritional advisor. Customers then receive video feedback on their eating habits from the advisor on a biweekly basis (for $9.99 a month).
Read Full Story http://www.networkworld.com/community/?q=node/5686
By Keith Shaw
Roach Topping
September 15, 2006
THE addition of a new ingredient – cockroach – to a pizza topping resulted in a Pizza Hut restaurant being fined more than $13,000 for selling unsuitable food.
Read Full Story
The devil, and repeat business, is in the details
September 14, 2006Time flew by, but unfortunately the server didn’t. She overlooked the man’s request when sidetracked in the kitchen helping the expediter assemble the food order for her adjacent eight-top. The man began craning his neck, looking for his missing-in-action server as time crawled by and the kids wolfed down their pizza and pasta.
Read the whole article http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3190/is_19_40/ai_n16359808/print
Jim Sullivan is the chief executive of Sullivison.com
BD’s chain solicits guest feedback with electronic comment cards
September 14, 2006Seeking more feedback from more diners, some operators are replacing paper comment cards and other traditional customer survey methods with automated systems designed to elicit patrons’ opinions before they exit the restaurant
Read Full Article by Julie Ritzer Ross . She is a Glen Ridge, N.J.-based freelance business and technology writer. http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3190/is_19_40/ai_n16359820/print
The 10 Golden Rules of Customer Feedback
September 14, 2006We fear they’ll tell us our product or service stinks, that we’re horrible people and we should never have set foot on earth.
Yet most companies never hear that type of painful feedback. Our research finds that companies with strong word of mouth and customer devotion behave like high-performance athletes when it comes to focusing on customer feedback. In effect, they are feedback machines. Customer feedback drives their marketing strategies, product development and service expectations.
Read Full Article Ben McConnell and Jackie Huba are the authors of Creating Customer Evangelists: How Loyal Customers Become a Volunteer Sales Force
http://www.marketingprofs.com/print.asp?source=%2F4%2Fhuba8.asp
