Adorable Toot, The Junkyard Dog Of Social Media Nightmares
SearsKilledMyDog.com: The Anatomy of a Social Media Nightmare Averted – A Case Study
You are the social media strategist for Sears Hometown Stores. It’s Friday, the end of a long day, at the end of a long week. You are ready for a refreshing and well deserved cocktail to start your weekend. Heck, maybe two.
You make one last pass at your social media listening dashboard before you head out the door, and you come across your worst nightmare:
* A picture of a cute little dog named Toot.
* A story about a tragic accident where your delivery truck runs over and kills Toot.
* Details about how a local representative of your company apologized, but then went on to tell the distraught pet owners it was not his delivery guy’s fault, but theirs. It keeps getting better. He tells this to them not just once, but on two separate occasions.
* All this is on a website called, and here is where your heart skips a beat and your blood runs cold, SearsKilledMyDog.com.
* And oh, it’s blowing-up on Reddit, Twitter, and the Internet at large.
You are Shaunak Dave, the director, multi-channel integration for Sears Hometown Stores. That well deserved cocktail is going to have to wait …and you might want to remember to breathe again.
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The Incident
Peggy* and David* bought a freezer a little while before Thanksgiving from the Sears Hometown Store in Dripping Springs, Texas. With the promise of free home delivery they had it sent to the house.
When the delivery truck arrived at their home, Maxwell, known as Toot by his family, ran out to investigate the new visitor as he had done many times before. As the truck was coming to a stop in the driveway Peggy and David heard a loud yelp. Toot was fatally injured. He died shortly afterwards.
An Apology Mishandled
Wanting to find some closure on a tragic event, Peggy went to the Sears Hometown Store in Dripping Springs to talk with the owner about what happened. (Unlike the big mall stores that most of us know, this Sears business unit works more like a franchise.)
The owner apologized, but instead of stopping there he went on to say that that his store was not at fault, and the driver had cautiously pulled forward in the driveway, that most dogs would have moved out of the way, and that Toot’s owners were fundamentally at fault for letting the dog out of the house and into the front yard.
Peggy was stunned at the owner’s position. Instead of finding closure, she now felt a number of things. None of them very good. None of them were helping her deal with the loss of Toot.
David was troubled by the way he felt the owner had treated his wife. Although a man of few words, he decided to have a few words with the Sears Hometown Store owner.
Unfortunately, the owner was unmoved. David’s experience with the owner mirrored his wife’s first encounter. It was not Sears’s fault. The driver had exercised caution. The dog should have moved. Peggy and David were the responsible party.
Using the owner’s logic, David asked him whose fault would it be if someone backed a car through the Sears Hometown Store wall? Based on what the owner was arguing it wouldn’t be the driver’s fault, but the store’s, right? The owner said that was completely different. The two men were at an impasse. However, the owner promised to call and follow-up.
Peggy and David say the Sears Hometown Store owner never called.
SearsKilledMyDog.com Is Born
SearsKilledMyDog.com
Frustrated and hurt by a backhanded apology, in their mind no apology at all, and not receiving any further contact from Sears, they decided to get their story out to the public.
David is not a website builder by training, but he has had some experience selling merchandise online, and had learned a few things from doing that. Using his smarts and layman’s knowledge of websites he bought http://www.SearsKilledMyDog.com on Wednesday December 9th.
On Thursday December 10th with a few pages that related their experience, and pictures of Toot, the website went live. They told their friends and family about it, and shared the website link and story on Facebook.
December 11th things are going Internet crazy. The website is getting heavy traffic, their story is trending to #1 on Reddit, and The Consumerist article is burning up Twitter. All this was not the response Peggy and David had anticipated or wanted.
This is where we met Shaunak. He is about to ruin a few of his co-worker’s Friday night plans, too.
Sears Hometown Stores’ Customer Service Secret Sauce
Do you know what Shaunak calls dealing with a dissatisfied customer? Friday. No matter how great a company is you are going to have the occasional unhappy customer. It is just another workday for him.
Actually, while this aspect is only a part of his job, Shaunak likes unhappy customers. He really does. When he talks about them you can hear the excitement and passion in his voice. When a customer service problem hits his radar he reaches out to the customer and implements a cutting edge methodology that he has refined to a science. You might want to take notes.
- Listen to the customer and understand the problem.
- Acknowledge responsibility when appropriate.
- Apologize when it’s the right thing to do.
- Ask the customer what you can do to make it right.
Now, you might be saying that what Shaunak does is common sense or pretty standard. However, you would be wrong. If you have ever been on the receiving end of an unsympathetic customer service rep you know it is not an uncommon occurrence.
Also, it is astonishing how many company representatives seem oblivious to how a negative customer experience can deeply impact a company. A bad experience an unhappy customer is likely to share with 10 to 20 of their closest friends, and that is before they post it to Facebook or Twitter.
What Shaunak knows from years of experience is that being human works almost 100% of the time. And the reason he likes dissatisfied customers? Those previously dissatisfied customers become the most loyal customers and some of the best brand evangelists. The power of social media in its truest form.
You know what Shaunak calls transforming an angry customer into a brand champion? Friday. However, his Friday is a little different.
Incident Quickly Escalated to Upper Management
Shaunak quickly recognizes the seriousness of the situation and calls a meeting with the key people on the team. The team is concerned with the potential gravity of the situation, but it is also hard not to be touched by its sad nature. Feeling that it is the right thing to do, Will Powell, the business unit president, makes the exceptional decision to talk directly with Peggy and David, a duty usually done by his trusted staff.
Backlash
Peggy and David were beginning to regret their decision to take the story public. They started getting angry emails calling them names for making such a big deal out of the loss of that little dog. Then they start getting phone calls.
It was probably the call at 3am that pushed them over the edge. David in his unflappable style talked to the man who initially berated them for their website. A sleepy David explained his side of the story. The man softened, then relented, and in the end agreed with what they had done. The guy who was angry enough to track down Peggy and David’s’ number, and call them at 3am, was now a supporter.
It didn’t matter. They had enough. They decided to remove any information that would help people find them from the website, removed the feature that allowed site visitors to send them emails, and stopped answering the phone.
Second Thoughts
Creating SearsKilledMyDog.com was a way for Peggy and David to vent their frustration, tell their story to others, and maybe get Sears’ attention. However, at this point they started to have a nagging feeling that all this aggravation, on top of the loss of Toot, was just not worth it. Then the phone rang. They didn’t answer.
It was Rudy, the director of sales for Sears Hometown Stores, the voicemail said. For the first time they heard someone from Sears say they were very sorry for what happened. Peggy and David had a little moment of relief. Rudy went on to ask if they would be willing to talk to his boss. They were.
The Call
Will Powell shared his heartfelt apology about Peggy and David’s experience and at the loss of Toot. Will than asked, perhaps a bit self-consciously, if he could somehow make it up. Would Peggy and David allow Sears to cover the cost of losing Toot, and refund them the cost of the freezer? He clarified that it was not his intention to buy their silence. He just wanted to make things as right as best he could.
David offered to take the site down. Will told him it was not his intention to have them change what they were saying, stop telling their story, or to influence the website. He just wanted to do what he could to make amends for a sad and unfortunate situation.
Peggy and David were in a state of disbelief and overwhelmed. They now had several sincere apologies from Sears, received an unexpected and generous offer of restitution, and the president of Sears Hometown Stores had just declined to take David up on his offer to remove the embarrassingly named website, SearsKilledMyDog.com.
David shut down SearsKilledMyDog.com the next day.
Sears Adds Their Voice To The Conversation
The team promptly drafts an update of how the issue had been resolved. Shaunak contacts The Consumerist, whose post was being retweeted with great speed. He tried to post Sears Hometown Stores’ update in the comments section, but it does not appear.
He then tries to reach the editors, but is unable to make contact. When he does reach them he is pleasantly surprised that how professional they are. In fact they want to include Sears’ response in the story itself.
Statement that appeared on The Consumerist
I am in Marketing at Sears Hometown Stores based in Hoffman Estates, Illinois.
We are very sorry about the loss of the dog of a devoted Sears customer. As soon as we heard about this (which was at 5 PM CT on Dec-11-2009), our team acted swiftly to contact the customer who purchased the freezer from our Hometown Store in Dripping Springs, Texas. In fact, Will Powell, our business unit President, spoke to the customer just before 7 PM CT on Dec-11-2009 and extended our apologies and the customer graciously accepted.
As a symbol of our deep regret for the accident, we offered to reimburse him for the cost of his dog as well as to refund the original sale. Unfortunately, accidents happen and both the customer and Sears did a great job starting the path for reconciliation and, at this point, both the customer and Sears consider the issue resolved. (Originally a link to Peggy and David’s update on their website acknowledging their appreciation to Sears and that the situations had been resolved.)
Contacting Key Influencers
After the update posts in The Consumerist article, Shaunak identifies people with the most influence who have tweeted the link or otherwise have promoted the story and sends them a link with the update. While putting an up a response is the right action, the team’s decisions to make the extra effort and have it posted by a third party is brilliant. It lends extra credibility because it is 3rd party, and everyone who finds that article afterward sees it.
What Sears Hometown Stores Team Did Right
- The incident was quickly escalated to upper management.
- Filters for the new search terms were immediately set-up and tracked. (Note: Shaunak uses Radian6.)
- A team was quickly assembled that had all the skill sets needed to respond and the authority to make decisions in real time.
- All available data was collected.
- All involved parties were contacted for input.
- The team made their best effort to understand the problem with what they knew at the time.
- A course of action was decided, and then immediately implemented.
- Senior management reached out to Peggy and David, asked what they could do to make it right, and then went beyond the customer’s expectation.
- Sears asked for nothing in return for the restitution they offered, and did not try to influence Peggy and David’s free speech.
- Drafted a brief statement with the situation’s facts and its resolution. They did not include any personal details about the customers.
- Posted the resolution update on key websites that had reported the story.
- Contacted the top influencers involved with the story with the updated status.
- Management made it personal.
- All of the above took place within a couple hours from when the incident become known to Shaunak.
What Sears Hometown Stores Team Did Wrong
- Nothing.
Closure
Maxwell "Toot"
If you asked what Peggy and David would say about their experience you would hear mixed feelings. While they received negative criticism about their website which hurt, they are clearly touched by Sears’ outreach. If it wasn’t for the sad loss of a precious member of the family, they might almost say it was a positive experience. But, in the end it wasn’t; Toot is gone. Understandably, Peggy and David are ready to close this chapter and move on, which is why they accepted the offer not to use their real names for the post.
Acknowledgment and Full Disclosure
I did not intend to write a post at first. My interest was professional curiosity. I appreciate Shaunak reaching out, and then generously answering my many questions about team’s thought process on how they responded to this situation. He is clearly a very smart guy who loves the company he works for, and drinks the social media Kool-Aid, too. A fellow traveler, indeed. I only hope Sears realize that his response and guidance was outstanding, and that he is due for a raise.
Peggy and David were done talking about this issue, but in a moment of kindness decided to respond to my request to talk about their experience, and then bigheartedly answered all my questions until I ran out of steam. I’m grateful for their willingness to share their story, and my heart goes out to them for their loss.
While I told everyone I spoke to that I might write a blog post, large parts of this post came from those informal conversations. I reserve the right to rewrite or edit the text should any source feel that I have misrepresented the facts.
* The names of the website owners have been replaced with pseudonyms at their request.
Sharing is Caring
If this post was helpful to you, share it with your colleagues. It’s a great way of saying thanks, and it lets others know that you’re a little extra cool.
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Kelly Roy
December 14, 2009
Steve- Thorough coverage of the story. I, like everyone else, are suckers for a happy ending. This story leaves me with a few questions. Most critically, as in any escalated situation, what is Sears doing internally to ensure this situation does not repeat itself, from the running over of the dog to how the driver and the local store owner responded. My final thought is, what would the impact to Sears bottom line been, if they had, gasp, done nothing? Like many, I am intrigued by how companies deal with social media noise, however, I am not a fan of the scare tactics many in the space tout.
SHC-ShaunakD (@SearsHTS)
December 14, 2009
@ Kelly…we are definitely going to do some learning with our sales team and owners as a result to insure this does not happen again.
re: our bottom line…impact to sales is a litte tough to measure, but “perception is reality” is something that could not be overcome. It made sense to us to act swiftly.
We understand that you have to embrace positive WOM with the negative. Although strange to say, you need (expect) that because it makes believable, credible. Otherwise, we would like a propoganda machine. :)
Walter Schwabe (@fusedlogic)
December 14, 2009
Steve, great post about a sad story. I agree with you that the Sears team did the best they could with the situation handed to them. Another example that customer service is often about being empathetic and understanding and what can happen if there is a void of same. There’s little more anyone could have done, Sears is to be commended with the exception of the original manager.
SHC-ShaunakD (@SearsHTS)
December 14, 2009
@ Walter…totally agree with you. A simple apology goes a long way in reconciliation!
SHC-ShaunakD (@SearsHTS)
December 14, 2009
Steve,
Thank you so much for this very thorough case study! Two points…
First, it’s true and strange to say, but I love finding “dissatisfied” customers. In today’s digital world, WOM about a customer’s experience with a product or service is immediate and spreads quickly. Social media is valuable not only because Sears can find “dissatisfied” customers, but also because “dissatisfied” customers can find Sears. The opportunity is turn that “dissatisfied” customer into a brand advocate.
Second, Sears really does care. There is only one goal in the pursuit of building a successful company – treasure the customer. We perform and execute it no matter how long it takes or how hard it is to achieve. Yes, we have great appliances, tools, and lawn and garden equipment, but that is peripheral to the goal. Are we there yet? In the spirit of continuous improvement, Sears is relentlessly iterating to treasure the customer. If you’re happy or dissatisfied, find us, friend us, and voice your opinion. We care, really.
John R Hofmann Sr.
December 15, 2009
I am a Sears Hometown Store owner as well as a dog owner. Other than family there is nothing more precious than a beloved family pet. My heart goes out to Penny and David for the loss of Toot.
Like a family member nothing can replace the loss. It was certainly gratifying to read of Mr Powell’s quick response. Sears is a very large entity but still one of human beings who care about their customers.
Chip McComb
December 15, 2009
thanks for the case study. Social Media and Customer Service go together like PB&J. I’m sure this post will help a lot of people see the value of integrating social media monitoring into their standard customer service operations.
Lauren Vargas
December 15, 2009
Thank you for sharing this story. While a tragic story, this experience truly shows how an organization can engage on a personal level with its community. Also, this story should serve as a lesson learned for other organizations making the case for social media.
Lauren Vargas
Community Manager at Radian6
@VargasL
Steve Farnsworth
December 15, 2009
Comment Moderation Disclosure: This case has provoked a number of fervent comments and opinions about responsibility, who is to blame for the accident and death of the pet, or that disagree with the validity of the pet owner’s actions, etc. All which are outside of the topic of this post. For those who feel strongly about expressing their thoughts on those issues, there are other blogs and places where that discussion is taking place. This post was specifically about how Sears Hometown Stores responded to the social media crisis, smart practices, lessons learned, and results. With the hope of staying on topic, only comments that address those or other relevant aspects of that post will be approved. I apologize to any reader that disagrees with that decision.
Alexis
December 19, 2009
Thanks for keeping track of this, Steve. This really is a social media textbook “crisis recovery” example. Beautiful job @SearsHTS did, and wow, how fortunate Sears had that team at the helm on this particular afternoon. They showed a knack that I suspect was hard to put a price, until recently. LOL! Here’s hoping they are rewarded for their innate empathy and desire to make things right! Cheers!
chalkboarder
December 20, 2009
Steve,
This is excellent. I am immediately distributing the link to this case study through my social networks. I wish I could copy it in it’s entirety (including the comments) and cross-post it to the largest social network for the restaurant industry FohBoh.com, with over 13,000 members [disclosure: I am one of ten featured front page contributors there, writing mostly on social media].
Shaunak, you are to be commended for your quick grasp of the situation, your humbleness, and your strategy/tactic to resolve the issue so well and graciously. You just repositioned Sears in my world.
SHC-ShaunakD (@SearsHTS)
December 30, 2009
Jeff,
I appreciate the kind sentiments. Total team effort and we’re just trying to do the right thing, do our best, and show our customers that we care.
Happy New Year!
Cheers,
Shaunak
Peter
December 30, 2009
I would have kept the site up if someone killed my dog and did not apologize initially. The secondary apology is worthless after that first insult. These people should have kept the site up indefinitely.
The Sears management team acted intelligently. And it worked because the people chose to back off. Unfortunately.
SHC-ShaunakD (@SearsHTS)
December 30, 2009
Peter,
Actually, we asked the customer to keep the site up. And, he offered to take it down based on our sincere apology. Our offer was a “make good” and never intended to buy his silence. In fact, the Consumerist posted that in our response. Of course, we are sorry this happened, but both side were gracious and moved on.
Tim Patterson
December 31, 2009
Steve, this is a terrific article about a sad situation. Your reportage is excellent. I’m glad to see that the giant corporation has a human face (which of course we all want to see) and that the wronged party is also all-too-human.
Too often these types of stories illustrate how badly a big business mismanages a small crisis and it ends up biting them in the behind for months or years. I’m heartened to see that Sears had intelligent and proactive folks that knew the right things to do.
Stephanie
February 20, 2010
Yet another example of the way the squeaky wheel gets oiled first. It’s a shame that sometimes the only way to get this level of respect from a brand is to make a lot of noise.
This hits home slightly on a customer service issue I have. I’m currently dealing with an appliance company on my broken double oven. I feel they’ve been rather rude in their dealings with me via my repair person and have now left us hanging.
I find myself conflicted because coincidentally I am a Mommy blogger and I know how quickly a little brand bashing can get a response. I’ve not done it, but I’ve certainly watched it happen with impressive results.
I find myself pondering: When if ever do I give up on the traditional channels this company has created to address customer service issues? Will my problem ever get the attention I feel it deserves without me shouting their name on my blog and twitter? Does my broken oven need to start Trending to get the repairs/ aid required?
Is it naive of me to still be attempting to follow the traditional process first?
http://andtwinsmake5.blogspot.com/2010/02/dear-appliance-company-its-me-average.html
Shaunak Dave
February 21, 2010
Hi Stephanie,
Sorry about your experience. Sears is using social media for proactive and reactive reasons. For us, it’s not about the “squeaky wheel getting oiled first.” It’s about providing another channel for customers to reach us. In fact, we’re probably the only retailer to have social network (MySears Community) to allow customers to vent their frustration.
That said, if we can help please feel free to contact us. We’re on Twitter (@SearsHTS).
Best,
Shaunak
And Twins make 5!
February 22, 2010
Hi Shaunak,
I like what you are saying Shaunak and agree with you that other appliance companies are not viewing / using social media in this same fashion as Sears ( at least in my experience).
I’ve reached out via private messages on twitter to the oven brand and found whoever is manning their social media is really no better equipped or motivated to help me get some answers then the 1-800 #.
So in this case, you can probably see where it will probably take a “squeaky wheel” to get at least some answers.
In the meantime, I bough a toaster oven from Sears. Thanks for your comments and offer to help!
Carlos
June 19, 2012
This is an interesting story, because, what would you do if, like Sears, you WEREN’T at fault but emotions would turn the tide against you? While I agree that the Sears rep should have been more empathetic, he’s not incorrect. He can’t admit fault (and get a lawsuit) and frankly, he’s kind of right. It’s not the truck driver’s fault unless he was driving recklessly (which it doesn’t sound like he was). The dog got out of the house. A tragedy happened. The analogy of “what if a truck backed into a wall at the store” doesn’t relate because a wall doesn’t insert itself behind a truck at the last minute. I am NOT saying that it’s the dog owner’s fault. It’s really no one’s. It’s very sad and I’m so sorry to the owners. I can imagine their heartache. And yes, it is absolutely TRUE that the Sears rep could have avoided ALL of this had he just said “I’m so sorry. This is very sad” and acted with empathy. But what do you do if you’re not completely at fault but the public will blame you because of the high emotions? Sounds like sometimes, if you’re a big brand like Sears, you have to swallow the pride/truth to prevent anger against your brand. Anyway, really great post, Steve.
Chris @webmindset
August 15, 2012
Oh how the local manager so totally screwed up! But the home team pulled through and did the best they could. I’ve noticed, and truly appreciate, and increase in empathy from the many customer service reps I’ve had to deal with over the past couple years. Even if it’s scripted, it just feels good and right.
ازياء محجبات 2013
February 16, 2013
You did a great review. I do agree your comments as I am also using this Planar with my M9. I am also feel annoying due to the sticky focusing ring. Apart from that, no complain at all.