wanttaja@ssc-vax.UUCP (Ronald J Wanttaja) (06/28/85)
> > Actually, the way Coke is handling complaints is fairly revealing. If > someone calls up their toll-free number to complain about the taste, they > give him or her some coupons for some free Coke. According to their > marketing representative, who was interviewed recently in the local > newspaper, Coke only counts the call as being negative if the person won't > take the coupons. I gave this bit to a friend who is a militant "Coke hot-line" caller. It made him a bit mad, since they sent him the coupons without asking him, so he called back to confront them with this info. Kind of interesting... they apparently have some sort of database there, as they mentioned that he had called before. They denied this, saying their marketing people were not that closely associated with the vote-taking. They didn't mention WHAT the marketing folks did with the raw data, however...and of course, the entire Hot Line is probably run by the marketing department. What was really interesting was their reaction when my buddy mentioned that he got the data from a friend on USENET! They started falling all over themselves, offering to have their supervisors and marketing people call me to give me the facts of this case. I don't know if they had heard of USENET, but they seemed quite upset that this type of information was being passed worldwide. Keep it up :-) Actually, I think a well orchestrated rumor campaign would have more effect than just calling in votes. So call 1-800-GET-COKE, and ask about the story quoted above! Ron Wanttaja (ssc-vax!wanttaja)
jrrt@mtuxo.UUCP (r.mitchell) (07/03/85)
As a minor-league coke-aholic, I'm very interetsde in getting the
Old Coke back. I called the 1-800-GET-COKE number and registered a
strong No vote, stating that I was now drinking Pepsi and would do
so until Old Coke came back.
They gave me the usual opportunity to accept a free coupon. I turned
it down and started asking questions about the rumors I'd read on
the Net: If I had accepted the coupon, would my "vote" be counted
differently than if I rejected it? The woman who talked to me was
totally unflustered and calmly stated that there was no difference,
each vote would be considered without regard to the destiny of the
coupon.
I'm not sure I totally believe her (not that she was lying; she just
may not have the full story). She mentioned that the "data card"
would be marked as to whether I wanted a coupon or not, and that
Marketing people get the card...
I mentioned I had read the rumors on an "nationwide electronic
bulletin board," but she didn't react at all.
Apparently, Coca-Cola has decided to be mellow with regard to these
rumor campaigns that USENET readers have started...
Rob Mitchell {allegra,ihnp4}!mtuxo!jrrt
Es un entreverado loco, lleno de lucidos intervalos.
(He is a muddled fool, full of lucid intervals. *Don Quixote*)