The customer is always right

I had a bad experience at Carl's Jr yesterday. Just goes to show that the customer is always right. Read the letter I wrote to them below:

To whom it may concern:

My name is Harmony Wheeler. On Sunday, March 27 around 4:30 p.m., I went to the Carl's JR on Rosecrans Ave in La Mirada, CA. I ordered a 20 piece chicken strip box, a 5 piece chicken strip, and a large fry.

I had more than enough money on my debit and credit cards to pay for the meals. The store's credit machine "server" went out, however. It appeared that I was the first this happened to, since they gave me no warning and at first made it out to be my fault until they tested several cards and realized it was the machine's fault.

I told the worker I didn't have enough cash to pay. After he talked to his supervisor, he said I would have to give the food back. After I complained (pointing out that they would only throw the food away if they took it back, that it was not my fault or my card's fault that the credit machine was not working, that I was the first it happened to and thus they owed me an apology and the food I ordered, and that they could easily tell everyone after me that the credit card machine was not working and avoid further incidences) they insisted I give at least $10 for the meal. I did not have that much. I searched my wallet and found 7 one dollar bills. They eventually accepted my $7, cleaning me out for what I had. The whole of it took at least 15 minutes, if not more. On top of this, they made me feel guilty in front of my friend who was with me.

I am a public relations professional, and I know what good and bad service is. The customer is always right. When you're in the wrong, give the customer their food for free without fighting or cleaning their wallets out. I was very offended by the poor service offered at this Carl's JR. That particular Carl's JR has lost my business forever. Carl's JR as a whole will not see my business for a while.

I hope you will take this complaint into consideration. I do not know what other Carl's JRs are like, but if this happens to others, I'm sure you will lose their business, as well.

Thank you for your time. I'm sure that Carl's JR as a whole has better public relations than this one restaurant has.

Harmony

Seth Godin's Seven Questions to Think About

A good reminder of the need to be flexible and nonjudgmental in work - Here are Seven Questions for Leaders to think about from Seth Godin's blog:

• Do you let the facts get in the way of a good story?
• What do you do with people who disagree with you... do you call them names in order to shut them down?
• Are you open to multiple points of view or you demand compliance and uniformity?
• How often are you able to change your position?
• If someone else can get us there faster, are you willing to let them?

Read the rest of Godin's points here.

Public Relations versus Marketing Part 2: Every job creates an impression

In the past, marketing focused on sales and public relations focused on internal and external publics. Marketing focused on one-way outbound communication of a message promoting sales. Public Relations focused on inbound and two-way communication, or interaction with publics, working to find out what the audience wants and finding ways to give it to them.

But today I tend to look at marketing as an overarching theme for sales, which focuses on the product, and public relations, which focuses on relationships. In fact, many sales and marketing professionals are finding that people are demanding that they be put before the product. Thus, many sales people/marketers are spending more time producing information unrelated to their products than they are spending promoting their products.

When you think about it, public relations has a part in every person’s life and in every person’s job, including that of the marketer, sales person, or advertisement manager. Every interaction, every ad creates an impression. While public relations can be used to promote sales, it can escape sales. Sales, however, cannot escape public relations. Marketing is the art of impressions.

Public Relations versus Marketing Part 1: Integrated Communications

My understanding of public relations is a constantly expanding and changing one, especially in light of what the profession is compared to Marketing, Advertising and other similar communication professions. In many ways, all these elements have been integrated. Biola’s University Communications and Marketing is one example of integrated marketing and public relations. They don’t even call it public relations. UCM has an event planner, a media relations person and a group of professionals overseeing various Biola publications including the Biola website and Biola’s social media efforts.

My recent internship with Sierra Repertory is another example of integrated communications. I worked under a one-person marketing department. My supervisor performed all the duties of the typical public relations professional and more, yet she was given the title of Marketing Director. Maybe this is just a misunderstanding of what marketing is, or maybe marketing and public relations are more alike than we realize.

Are marketing and public relations similar? The same? Integrated? What's your take?

Successful businesses use social networking sites, study finds

From the Boston Herald:

A new study from the University of Massachusetts’ Dartmouth Center for Marketing Research finds that the top thriving companies nationwide are rapidly turning to social networking sites, relying on them as a marketing tool that is no longer considered a nuisance — but a virtue — in the workplace.

Read more at the Boston Herald.