In the age of social media, customers have direct, public access to brands and businesses that was previously unavailable. The new public forum works both ways; it inspires brands to give customers the best experience so they promote the business through word-of-mouth. On the other hand, it makes customer's complaints visible for all of the public to see. Bill Miller Bar-B-Q recently dealt with the latter when a promotion for their 65th anniversary went awry.
The restaurant chain, headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, focuses on barbecue food, like fried chicken, BBQ, and sandwiches. To celebrate their 65th anniversary, the chain announced that customers could receive two pieces of dark meat fried chicken, fries, and a roll for only $1.65 as part of a limited-time chicken deal. Blame it on the delicious fried chicken, but Bill Miller Bar-B-Q ran into an issue that Chick-fil-A stores in the United Kingdom ran into last month: the chain had a chicken shortage.
The restaurant received comments from customers through almost every medium of social media and phone. The promotion ran through Sunday, and many customers were unable to participate, despite showing up at the locations well within the time frame.
Afterwards, the brand took to social media to issue a public apology. While many are unsure if Bill Miller Bar-B-Q will have another chicken meal deal to make up for this one, keep your eyes open on their social media accounts.
It's rare to see such a message from a restaurant business these days, but maybe that is just the Texan way. So whether your go-to order is pork ribs with a side of potato salad and coleslaw, or you just can't resist those BBQ sandwiches, try not to hold this one against Bill Miller Bar-B-Q restaurants, San Antonians.
Good service matters, and so do valuable business ethics. It takes a great deal for a brand to publicly admit to the major issues that plagued it, and for this, we're here to offer overwhelming support for the chain of barbecue restaurants. So don't mind us as we grab a cowboy breakfast with a side of griddle cakes and an iced tea for the road. Maybe a brisket taco, too.
