Stacey’s Pita Chips are a favorite snack of mine. I like them with hummus. They’re a big part of the new hummus craze. This blog isn’t about the 32 flavors of hummus that suddenly have their own section at the local supermarket, but rather another business lesson related to opening channels and listening to the customer.
I was recently eating from a bag of Stacey’s Naked Pita Chips (plain flavor) and I found something strange. I was only getting these double wide thick fat chips and hardly any of nice thin crispy ones. These fat ones are the ones that are created when the pita isn’t sliced the long way. They are harder to eat and absorb more oil than the others, and for me, just don’t taste as good.
Here’s my bag, full of doubles:
I really prefer the thin kind, like Stacey’s advertises in their own images:
Something definitely was wrong with this batch. I thought maybe these were a new product line – “Stacey’s Double Wide, Extra Double Thick” chips perhaps. Bag said plain old regular Naked Pita Chips. I spoke to someone else recently that complained about the Stacey’s chips being double thick at Costco, which is where I bought my bag. Maybe they dump the thick ones at Costco?
Anyway, here’s what’s important, the business lesson. I wanted to give the company some feedback. Running my main business, ePromos, I know how important feedback is to retaining customers, innovation and finding new ways to satisfy our client’s preferences, Here is the saga that ensued:
- I thought the easiest way for me to let Stacey’s know my thoughts would be through social media. I figured I would compliment them, but also drop in my thick chip experience.
- So I go to Twitter, search for Stacey’s Pita, I see various mentions, but no real twitter representing Stacey’s or StaceysPita or Stacey’s Snacks, the parent company.
- I go to their website, which isn’t Stacey’s Pita, it’s staceysnacks.com. So I had to use Google to find them. I would suggest they own staceyspita.com.
- On their site I don’t see a Twitter icon, but they do have Facebook:
- I’m thinking, great, I’ll just post to Facebook. On Facebook I try to post on their wall, but I can’t do it. I think something is wrong. I later learn that the Facebook Page administrative settings can get set to not allow posts unless you first “Like” the page. This isn’t clear to Facebook users. So I go back to the website and look for a comments area.
- On the website, it gets worse. The website menu has “Contact Us”. I’m thinking OK, I’m getting there. After clicking Contact Us, my choices are to write or call a toll-free number (I’m not going to speak to a operator, I don’t think my message will make it past their ears, let alone to management). At the very bottom there is a link to the a Consumer Feedback Form (must have browser popups enabled), which doesn’t really turn out to be a form as much as a mini site.
- Here is the form, I totally miss “Ideas and Suggestions” on the left because I assume this is the form I have been waiting for, I have to select How they can help me from a drop down (see picture), I didn’t really want to complain but the closest choice was specific product complaint.
- I’m thinking what a hassle, I’m out of here, I just wanted to leave a 20 word email, but then I catch the Ideas and Suggestions link on the left side. I’m thinking YES, I’m finally home – but NO!
- Their idea of “Ideas and Suggestions” is for new product suggestions only – not where my thoughts are heading: customer feedback.
- Anyway, I am really amused at the text on this page. It blows me away that any company would say this at any point in any situation. I guess there are so many legal concerns at Stacey’s they don’t even want new product suggestions. I think you’ll agree, whoa, this ain’t good business:
“Although we are sincerely complimented that you thought to offer us your concept, we cannot accept nor consider ideas from outside the company. Our company receives many suggestions from the public. However, these ideas often mirror, or closely resemble, ones we are working on or that we have used before.”
So I am frustrated that I can’t easily give a suggestion that I as a CEO think they would appreciate. But Stacey’s looks like such a nice entrepreneurial company, something must be wrong. I’m thinking maybe Stacey was purchased by a big bureaucratic company. I Google it and what do you know, my suspicions were correct. Stacey sold to Frito-Lay back in 2000 and something.
I think Stacey may have been a real person, running a small and successful snack business at one point in time. As a small company, I like to imagine she was probably was good at listening and really cared about her customers. As a big company, Frito Lay seems less inclined to value the public opinion and feels the need to be very legally protected from suggestions lest they get sued for stealing someone’s idea. I’m not sure how this happens when someone has to enter their idea, thereby giving it away, proactively on a web form.
Business Lessons: Make sure to own the URLs that people might type in rather then sending them to Google where they will be distracted with advertising, perhaps from your competitors and potentially never make it to your site.
- Get a Twitter account and have someone on your staff looking for compliments and complaints. This person should have a direct channel to upper level management.
- Consider setting your Facebook page to allow comments without requiring people to first LIKE your page –you can delete comments in a click, just have someone monitor them.
- You should look at your website and ensure a consumer is no more than two clicks from filling out a suggestion. If not, fix it.
- Don’t make people classify their suggestion if possible.
- Don’t use a fancy popup mini site for feedback and suggestions Popups aren’t always enabled.
BTW: I love Stacey’s and if you haven’t tried them you should. Just be careful of the Costco bags if you like thin ones like me
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