Traveling across the country, Paul and his friend Randy often stopped at restaurants with familiar brands. One advantage of this is that the menu and often the service quality are likely to be consistent and familiar. Occasionally, however, they were disappointed. A breakfast stop at one such restaurant was extremely unpleasant. Although the menu was the same, the restaurant was disgustingly dirty. Paul was so upset, and he visited the company's Web site to register a complaint.
Probes
1. How easy does this company make it to get feedback from customers? What could they do differently if they are genuinely interested in hearing from customers?
2. What is the effect of their requirement that Paul call them with an exact address (considering that there is only one restaurant located at that Interstate highway off ramp)? What message does that requirement send?
3. How do you react to the company's excuse that this is a franchised restaurant and (by implication) that they have no responsibility for cleanliness standards?
4. If you were in a leadership position with this large organization, what would you do to improve the ways they handle such feedback? Be specific.