When Dozens of Fans Dislike Your Post, is Silence the Best Option?

Apparently, Hannaford Supermarkets thinks so.  Or at least whoever is in charge of their Facebook Social Media does.

Last week, Hannaford posted a link promoting its Great Grocery Giveaway promotion (Link to entire post and responses).  I never would have seen this if a friend hadn't posted a comment to this post.

In this promotion, Hannaford cashiers are handing customers a scratch ticket (or several, depending on their purchases) making them eligible to win any number of prizes.  In fact the grand prize, according to their website, is $250,000.  People love to have a shot at winning money and scratch-off tickets seem to be very popular so people would be all over this I would think!

Instead, the feedback was swift and 95% negative.  The people who commented hated it.  Reasons ranged from being too much like gambling, a feeling that store prices were raised on items eligible for more tickets, and being too difficult to win even the base prize of $1.

Ironically, I had gotten my first one that day, so I could empathize with a Hannaford fan, Mike, who commented, "Hannaford had a contest and all I got was this lousy gold stain on my thumbnail."  Yup, that's all I won too.  Not so easy to get off your thumb, is it Mike?

Hannaford and Shaw's are the two major supermarkets where I live in Maine.  I found it fascinating when I moved here to discover that many people are fiercely loyal to one or the other.  Many of the fans that posted identified themselves as long-time Hannaford fans who are disappointed now.

Shaw's instituted a frequent shopping card years ago.  Hannaford didn't imitate Shaw's, rather they adopted a slogan of "No cards, no gimmicks."  It seems that the no-gimmick zone has been breeched now with lottery-style scratch tickets for every purchase and many fans resented this.  One employee summed it up by saying, "the Great Grocery Giveaway is more of a burden on cashiers then it is beneficial to our promotion," given the reactions from customers when he tries to hand them the cards.

Is anyone listening?

All the while, Hannaford had no response and still hasn't said anything.  From looking at their page a little closer, they do seem to chime in when someone compliments them, or has a location-based question.  It also seems that their coverage spans Monday through Friday during normal business hours, as they are slow to respond to comments made over the weekend.

My recommendations

• Say something, don't just promote your contest.
• Thank your loyal fans and supporters.  That kind of allegience is extremely valuable.
• Let people who took the time to write in that their feedback is valuable and you are listening.
• Respond calmly and address the concerns that fans had about price increases going hand in hand with the promotion.  Give specific examples. 
• Clarify some of the confusion around the odds of winning and the effects of entering the internet code. 
• Explain why employees are ineligible to participate.
• Apologize and assure customers that you are addressing the issue of substandard printing on the cards.
  

Silence is like pretending your fans feedback doesn't matter.  That's never a good option.   Social Media is about conversations.  Starting one and then exiting the room is bad form. 

And if you need help, I'm just down the street from you!