Domino’s Part II: “We Still Don’t Get Social Media”

I’ve talked too much about Pizza Hut & Domino’s and their various Social Media Exploits, I know. But after the Domino’s Debacle and the initial Aftermath, I couldn’t help but gauge how they’ve since handled their digital ventures. We all saw the apology videos…ok not bad, a bit late, but not bad. @dpzinfo was created after the public practically dictated they invoke a legitimate presence…again, not bad, but waaay too late.

So how has dpzinfo handled the pressure? Until yesterday, I would have given him/her a B+. He/she has been fairly responsive to my inquiries and seems to be a viable customer service channel, though, as expected, most responses are as ‘safe’ as they can be, only a few details away from being a ‘no comment.’ Either way, you can see that they’re trying, and for that, I must admit, they were moving in the right direction. The only negative was the endless promotion of the new “breadbowl.” Again, however, a certain amount of shameless product plugging is expected, maybe even warranted, when you’re a brand.

But here’s where they went wrong, in my opinion. In a move that reeks of desperation; in a sour attempt to negate their social media ineptness, as made public by the Domino’s PR Social Media Crisis, Domino’s now allows you to integrate your online order status, or “Pizza Tracker” (which has always seemed a bit…um, shady, perhaps automated & meaningless…at least to me anyway) with your Facebook profile.

My Question – Does ANYONE really give a proclaim to their Facebook ‘Friends’ – half of which they’ve never even met or interacted with – their pizza’s estimated time of arrival, per an automated, poorly constructed, and probably inaccurate, widget? Yes, Facebook is known for offering individuals the ability to broadcast the inane, mundane & TMI to the world, even in that light, this move seems a bit much.

This move practically screams “We Still Don’t Get Social Media.” In fact, all it does is acknowledge that there’s a demographic overlap in those who use Facebook and those who eat pizza and pretty much banks on the hope that some of those individuals will be bored enough to use this app.

And while we’re on the subject…in the words of Julian Matthews “Dear Domino’s Pizza @dpzinfo One wonders why you haven’t claimed @dominos and @dominospizza yet after the fiasco.”

Julian…Spot on!

But what do I know? I’m not an expert, just an observer, an experimenter, a pontificator (man I hate that word). So PLEASE, let me know what you think about this!

Domino’s Impending PR & Social Media Fiasco: The Questions I Want Answered

By now, I’m sure most of you have seen the videos of the two, infamous Domino’s employees as they play “hide the bodily excretion in the food.” This is nothing short of appalling, disgusting, horrible. But it’s not really surprising. Anyone who’s ever worked in a kitchen or restaurant has seen similar acts, I’m sure, if not worse. In fact, even most who haven’t had the pleasure of working the food service industry have probably imagined, or feared, at one point or another, the various distgustitudes that take place in fast food kitchens. We just choose not to think about them.

By the by, if you have yet to see the videos you can find them here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFxqC8hZ_xs and http://www.goodasyou.org/good_as_you/2009/04/video-let-the-dominoes-appall.html)

They have circulated through blogs and all forms social media, just now knocking on the door of traditional media outlets, causing quite an uproar, and leading many to turn their backs on one of the nation’s leading pizza chains.

Domino’s Communications VP Tim McIntyre recently spoke out in regard to the impeding crisis with a brief response, as predicable as it was irrelevant. To paraphrase ‘We’ll find them… they’ll be fired…they don’t represent the rest of Domino’s”

But, as a PR, um…person, and as a consumer, I’d assert that these were never the questions being asked. Of course they’ll be fired. We know that these are only two of the many individuals employed by the franchise.

The real questions here are:

How will you, Domino’s, convince your consumers that the same behavior doesn’t occur in the rest of your stores?

How will you distance yourself from the complete lack of hygiene and customer service now inexorably associated with the Domino’s Brand?

We’ve seen this with Taco Bell, but there it wasn’t blatant human misbehavior that causes the eruption of fear and outrage. It was tainted lettuce.

Mr. McIntyre, I’d like you to explain to us, not what you plan to do to these employees, but how you let it happen in the first place and how you can prevent it from happening in the future.

First of all, where was their supervisor? Isn’t there supposed to be a manager present who is charged with controlling employees? And PLEASE don’t tell me that one of these employees was the manager.

And secondly, and this is directed toward all fast food chains, how do you plan on preventing this type of behavior? If you have any chance of re-instilling confidence in your brand among consumers, you have to prove to us that you are taking measures to ensure we are not subject the misanthropic whims of your underpaid and overworked workers.

Until then…I know I’m going to avoid fast food for a while.

Another thought, per coworker and friend @Elliotschimel – “Wouldn’t it be great if this were all just a stunt by Pizza Hut?”

Which brings me to my biggest question – Where the Fuck is @Dominos? The VP responds on one blog…but the brand is completely absent on twitter, where the marjority of the commotion is centered and where the most potential lies for mitigating the fallout. Bad Move Dominos.

Honestly, Domino’s should have been on twitter long ago, joining the likes of Starbucks and Dell in active consumer engagement and brand monitoring. Perhaps this illustrates, reminiscent of the #motrinmoms debacle, the Crisis Communications trumps ‘ongoing  conversation’ as the best reason for big brands to maintain a presence on sites like Twitter.

But even if they grappling with the question of how effectively to use the site, which is arguably the only excuse for their continued absence, they should have created an account as soon as these videos hit. They should have had representatives responding to blog posts and concerned twitters, horrified and shouting boycott. They should have offered assurances and explained what they are doing to fix the situation. But as of this update, 4:13pm, on April 14th, 2009 – @Dominos is still an unregistered twitter handle, just begging to be brandjacked. I know I’m tempted…aren’t you?

Scratch That – Not Unregistered, just dormant. @Dominos & @Dominospizza – no tweets, no response and probably not even affiliate with Domino’s – Just a Twitter Squatter Who thought of brandjacking them  before I did. Props Joey.