Taco Bell has undertaken a big social media push to promote its new gourmet “Cantina Bell” menu by offering two-for-one ”Cantina Bowls.” The offer can be claimed on the company’s Facebook page.

I think it’s a brilliant move. Surely Taco Bell is aware of its reputation. Their marketing team has no doubt heard countless snickers at “Taco Bell” and “gourmet” being mentioned in the same sentence. Offering free product is a great way to quiet the skeptics — that is, if the product really is as advertised.

Of course, Taco Bell has thousands of franchises so there are bound to be some snags. Several people commented on the Facebook post that their local stores would not honor the coupon, and the company rep did his best to reply to them and resolve their issues.

There are more than 800 comments on the post. Some are just…well… dumb.

But most of the complaints are civil; some are even constructive. Then there’s this guy.

He calls Taco Bell’s promotion a “what not to do in customer service” but his post reads like a “how to be an internet d-bag.”

For one thing, I’m not sure what his “150,000 weekly readers” are looking at, since he hasn’t updated his blog since August 31, 2011. He hasn’t tweeted in a month, either. He has 34 connections on LinkedIn and 0 public posts on Google+. I’m surprised he didn’t post his Klout score, but I’m sure the folks at Taco Bell are shaking in their boots. Why lie about something that’s so easy to check?

At least he followed through and posted his diatribe on his Facebook wall. He even made a someecard! (Really?)

I just can’t fathom a situation that would get me so worked up over something so trivial as a $4.79 burrito bowl. Life is too short.

And furthermore, according to the 2010 Census, the city of Santa Paula’s population is 79% Hispanic or Latino. I’m guessing they probably have some pretty good authentic Mexican cuisine out there. Instead this guy rolls six deep in Taco Bell and is shocked — shocked I say! — to receive bad customer service.

The average hourly wage at Taco Bell is less than $8. I’m not excusing bad customer service, but let’s be realistic with our expectations here. If my hourly pay was less than two Cantina Bowls I’d probably have a sullen attitude, too. You get what you pay for, whether it’s $8 labor or 79¢ tacos.

Related: Unhinged and useless Yelp reviews

• «Previous Post
• Next Post »

---