Whenever I hear “lurkers”, I immediately think of blogging — but really it can apply to many other areas. It’s such an interesting dynamic with blogging too. I know I get solid traffic here, but most read without engaging further. Tapping into those people can give you feedback, as you point out, of people who are both positively and negatively disposed towards your blog/brand/company. And it matters, because in many ways it is probably a better indication of your true performance than those on either extreme.

And anyway… what’s it take for a guy to get a sandwich around here. 🙂

Per your suggestion, a quick 2-second follow up can help ID problems and find the solutions for them; and it can also bring some brand champions to the front, win win. Bill’s Publix story (hey dude) is a perfect example; the brand is strong enough to withstand one disappointment, but by not empowering/training employees to step up (b/c yeah, how hard would it be to price out something comparable?!), they are missing out on offering a profitable selection and annoying a strong supporter. Sheesh. FWIW.

Political participation is another good political metaphor — the small percentage of the people who scream the loudest steer the ship.

I love Publix too — looks like your story came from either bad execution on the front lines or a lack of empowerment of the front lines. I’m guessing it would not have been too bad if they just said no, but they indicated they could do it, then told you no. That’s usually problematic, to say the least.

Publix, where shopping is a pleasure. Trust me, Publix does it right and I know all the key players. In fact I play tennis once a week with their head marketing guy. Today I walked into the deli and asked for a meatloaf sandwich (of which I had been previously told they could do it). The person taking my order said they couldn’t do it because they didn’t have a ‘code’ for a meatloaf sandwich. She asked her manager and I rec’d the same reply. Instead of arguing the point, I turned and walked away disappointed. Yes, Publix has enough goodwill built up that I wouldn’t stop shopping there, but was highly disappointed they couldn’t think outside the box and just make it happen. It’s only a sandwich, how hard can that be?

Sorry I got off point, but wanted to tell my customer service story.