Do (successful) breweries give a damn?

People will speak with their wallets, yes, true.

You are a professional working in social media. Breweries are companies using social media as a tool, and like I have said earlier in this thread, there is only so much they can do against an unlimited amount of requests. They COULD hire a person or a firm to handle this, but at what point would all of this satisfy your particular notion of what they should do? And at what cost? They have limited resources to brew beer and manage their company. The amount of response you feel they should provide would seem to increase costs. Would you be happy paying more for beer with a company that is more responsive?

Send an email, if you get a reply that you are happy with great. If you feel slighted due to some expectation of social media, spend money elsewhere. It just seems you have expectations for all of these companies that can't be met, and quite frankly they aren't required to pass some social media level of participation test to participate at all.

 

I said they would be responsible for "filtering". To me, that doesn't include the act of responding--merely reviewing the messages to determine if they warrant a response or not. My point was that I'm not sure I'd trust an intern even to do the filtering portion of that task, although certainly, if the plan was to respond to *all* inquiries with a "please email more info to _____" that would remove the judgement portion (but also defeat one of the huge benefits of social media). Plus, you essentially are employing someone to type out a canned response. At a certain point, the investment in that employee is not worth the value they return.

Well, a negative or bad response can certainly be light years worse than no response at all. A lack of response *might* suggest to some consumers that the brewery doesn't care, but a bad response would remove all doubt about how few fucks they give. Most consumers will give the benefit of the doubt on not receiving a response--especially if they like the product. The number of consumers who will give the benefit of the doubt if they are told to kick rocks (or even feel like they are blown off in a less abrasive way) is considerably higher.

Underscoring the comment I just made, I'm skeptical about just how much of an impact the occasional missed response will yield from a lost customer standpoint. Again, especially if the customer likes the product. I don't think you are arguing that breweries should be forced to respond to anything, but keep in mind, the title of your thread was suggesting that any brewery who doesn't reply to every legitimate social media inquiry "doesn't give a damn". And the inference was that they didn't give a damn because they had become too successful to care about the individual consumer.

I'm not suggesting that people won't speak with their wallet. But I am suggesting that breweries do a lot of things outside of responding to social media to express giving a damn for the consumer and that when they decide where to drop money within their organization, they must weigh the potential risks and rewards. Do the number of consumers they stand to lose by not responding on social media (accounting for the fact that your lack of response doesn't even mean that they don't respond as policy) outweigh the cost of hiring a dedicated social media employee? Maybe, but I don't know. I'm at least willing to entertain the idea that the latter outweighs the former.

 

I'd say that's a pretty accurate assessment.

And I would like to point out that the Lost Abbey response made many of the same points that others have made on this thread, as well as suggesting you contact them via email.

No one is saying you can't contact through social media or that companies have zero imperative to respond through social media. Only that perhaps you're being rash in jumping to the conclusion that they don't give a damn because they didn't respond through a channel that isn't the most reliable available to you.

 

A lot of it comes down to getting past the front desk..emailing the obligatory [email protected] pits your question against a labyrinth of stupid requests/unsolicited resumes..I can imagine these becoming tiresome.

That said, I think most brewers/brewery employees are glad to help. If you email Dogfish Head with a question regarding beer, they'll send you a fucking reading list (pretty cool imo). I recently emailed a brewery with a question about their CIP system and they sent me a full description of their process within an hour. I guess it just depends on who ends up reading it, and what kind of day they're having.

 

Howdy all!

Here at New Belgium, we LOVE interacting with beer drinkers. Whether that's high-fives inside the brewery during tours, or swapping jokes on Twitter—it's honestly one of the biggest thrills...right up there with brewing beer we're proud of. One of the great things about working at New Belgium is the shared enthusiasm co-workers have for our fans. So, if someone tweets us with a tough question about, let's say, our Lacto souring process in Snapshot...well, it's a 10-second walk over to Lauren Salazar, who will likely give an answer much more in-depth than 140 characters. Same goes for everyone inside the brewery, in every department. Everyone's always excited to fill you in on what they're up to.

We're pretty committed to answering any/all questions across all platforms, and get pretty bummed out when we see something slip through the cracks. So, feel free to hit us up on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram....hey, even Google+! Of course, there's always [email protected]. Fair warning, though: Your Twitter questions might be met with a funny .gif from my co-worker Nic (plus a real answer). He sits next to me, is pretty rad on Twitter, and also pretty quick with the .gifs.

Cheers!

 

@pumpkinsmasher , this is what it takes to handle social media, in the manner you want it handled. One of the largest breweries (#4 last year) have at least 2 folks keeping an eye on it, throughout their work day. Does another shift come on to cover nights? Weekends and holidays? Cover vacations or sick days? The majority of brewers are so much smaller, that it's not practical. Go to the brewery nearest you, regardless of size, and ask them how many folks they can spare/afford to have on payroll to do the same thing.

 

Maybe 15 hours is two days of your work time? Not mine. Plus I'm able to post on social media while doing other things, like watch a large kettle boil. But as someone that runs two successful businesses that rely heavily on social media I really do value your unsolicited input, we'll be sure to look into that. (That's my sarcastic social media response.)

 

So, this exchange between a customer and a brewery just showed up on my FB feed. It made me think of this thread. Cut and paste from FB:

“THE GOOD THING IS WE’RE NOT CURING CANCER, JUST MAKING BEER…” KATINA
Those who know Marc & I truly, know we stand behind the O’so line of products and will do whatever we can to accommodate your satisfaction, but if we can’t seem to appease someone, there is a time to just move on because we don’t have the time to get into the back and forth, and the gospel of this world-wide internet we live in, ie all the social beer tasting sites out there!
O’so is 7 years old and we are proud of who we are. Our staff works hard each and every day toward the best beers possible and I will be the first to protect them, and this company, when I know our beer is free of infection and issues. I had a beer from a 20 year old brewery last night off draught that was buttery, I didn’t drink it, but I won’t pretend to live a day in their shoes by just slamming it publicly, either.
Folks, we all do our best… I truly believe NONE of us breweries put product out there knowingly with defects just to take your money. ALL WE HAVE IS OUR CRAFT BEER NAMES, so why would any intelligent person take a risk of ruining that!!! ????
There is all sorts of great beers out there, enjoy the ones you like and don’t drink the ones you don’t!
Win some, lose some, I guess we’ve lost Matt and his friends;

• Matthew Schuster
Hi Marc, I messaged the O'so page and never got a response. I thought I'd message you since you asked me to be friends a few weeks ago now. Friday night I had your Bourbon barrel Night Train w coconut and the Sense of Direction coffee sour. The coconut night train finished tart and got progressively worse as the bottle warmed up. The Sense of Direction had a good flavor but was completely flat. I still have a bottle of each in my basement. Just wondering what you guys are doing if anything to remedy this situation.
Thanks
•
4/28, 5:27pm
Marc Buttera
Matt, this is Katina and Marc is out of town this week, but without sending you on a wild goose chase, would you mind copying and pasting this facebook message into an email which he will get. The O'so page is handled by all employees who have access, not usually Marc, so never a good idea to deal with business on the facebook page. Thanks, Katina You can send the email to [email protected] Thanks! Katina
•
4/28, 5:42pm
Matthew Schuster
Thank you for responding. I'll send a email his way.
• Today
•
11:37am
Matthew Schuster
So you give me the email to message Marc and I get this. “Out of office Reply” - No its not a immediate problem because I have enough good beers to drink in the time being. I got a message from the taproom saying that I could only replace unopened bottles for Goldies Revenge at the taproom. I live near Milwaukee and don't plan on driving 2 hrs for a beer I already have. Trying to figure out why it's beginning to be so difficult to get a straight answer on this situation.

• Marc Buttera
Matt, I told you he was out of town in my post, he still gets messages and as he has time deals with emails. What exactly do you and any of your friends want to correct the problem with this beer? All our beers go through lab testing and all clear prior to release for infections. The tartness comes from the ancient barrels and isn't something everyone likes, but definitely is not an infection. As for the sour, Marc will have to address that, as I only know what he has said regarding the tares you described. I am unaware of any complaints on the sense of direction, so again he will need to address that beer. All beers were offered for sampling at the April party or pickup, did you sample them before you bought them? This is what I do every time I go to the bar and try something new because I can be pretty picky with my beers, but understand that just because I don't like doesn't mean there is something wrong with it, unless of course it is buttery which I know is an issue. These Goldies are the beer available for exchange, otherwise all I can say is it needs to be brought back for a refund from taphouse where the sale happened like any other product would need to be returned at his place of purchase. Blame the government, if allowed I'd take care of this by issuing an ra # and having you mail it back for a refund, but I can not advise of that, as it is illegal to ship malted beverages via couriour. Please let me know what you'd like O'so to do. Thanks, Katina
• Today
•
4:55pm
Matthew Schuster
First, I understand that he is out of town, you told me this. What I don't understand is why you would give me a email address to contact him knowing he wouldn't be able to message me back. A simple "Matt, Marc is out of town. I'll let him know about your concerns and have him get back to you when he arrives back." That would have been cool because this isn't earth shattering to me anyway the beer doesn't represent me, I guess if I had a business I'd want to know if the quality of my product is subpar. I'm not out that much money. Second, I guess you are pretty helpless. You apparently can't send a refund and I refuse to drive 2 hours to replace the bottles for a beer I already have/ had.
Third, you're right, I dropped the ball. I was unaware that your "ancient barrels" gave off a mildly nauseating sour taste. Ive had a lot of barrel aged beers and I guess I was expecting something that tasted like bourbon barrels. I should have had that Dixie cup pour that guy was handing out because I'm sure that would would have gave me a good grasp of the flavor of the beer. I'm sure the fact that I preordered my beer wouldn't have been an issue trying to get my money back if I would have tried the beer and not liked it. There are a lot of things you can do to fix the situation but it's not my business to figure that out for you. I will say that will be the last release that I attend. I'm not the only person that feels this way just take a peek at Untappd.
Thanks... for nothing Matt


So, customer starts out with FB, is told to try email, and his final rejoinder is to tell the brewery that he'll say bad things about them on Untappd. I laughed.

 

And sometimes it doesn't matter what channel you try to direct customers to. Some people are just idiots/assholes. Does he realize it's possible to read/reply to an email even though the recipient has an out-of-office turned on?

My favorite part is when he plays his beer geek card...'I've had a lot of barrel aged beers...' That dude is fucking credentialed.

 

I think he is saying that other people on untapped are saying the same thing as he is. I also might get a little testy if I was told I just don't like the beer when in fact it is infected and being reported as such by many people. His communication skills need a bit of work, but he may have a valid complaint that is being trivialized.

 

A successful brewery not giving a damn is better than an unsuccessful brewery not giving a damn. I know a few examples of each and guess which ones I don't go to...

 

I'm 0 for 1 sent an email to Belching Beaver About an infected PB Milk Stout. No response except for an automated email telling me to email someone else

 

This has been an on going thing with the brewery people publicly criticize them but make barely any effort to email O'so. They complain they can't get a refund until someone who EMAILED THE BREWERY reported they could. Look bottling, infection/infections aside be adults. I am 25 years old I don't have a facebook or twitter this site is the closest thing I have to proper social media. Use your email its why you have it stop expecting to be able to use social media for everything just because you use it a lot already.

If you'd like to see all the back and fourths here on BA about O'so just check out these threads.
http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/oso-funk-factory-4-4-release.266549/
http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/oso-7th-anniversary-party.219810/
http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/oso-barrel-aged-night-train.248703/#post-3187611

@pumpkinsmasher I get the impression that this thread is you saying you did everything you could to properly contact the brewerys in question about an issue, were told that you didn't by several industry professionals and just refusd to accept that fact. Maybe I'm biased since besides BA I don't use social media but the first thing I do to contact any business is send an email even if I had social media it would still be my first move. Maybe try that approach in the future and see if you get a different outcome.

 

Sure, but saying bad things on Untappd is going to have a negligible response. I have over 200 Untappd "friends", and I'm not sure any of them take Untappd seriously. Sometimes I'll get a quick note from a brewery, or a toast, but I don't think many breweries take Untappd seriously.

 

The beers aren't infected they have known off flavors people are inaccurately reporting as infection.

 

I am not saying he is correct guys. All I am saying is what he is trying to say. No where does he say HE is going to bad mouth them. He is using other peoples comments to solidify his position to the brewery. I will say that off flavors as opposed to infection is a distinction with little difference. The beer still tastes bad. Unless the brewery had prefaced the sale with this knowledge I think he may be due a refund.

 

I can testify to this. just a few days ago I e-mailed Sierra Nevada asking where I could find Hop-Hunter on the Central Oregon Coast ( Where old beer goes to die) Within one day I had an answer and lo an behold, the local Rite Aid had stocked it that morning! Yippee and Thank you Sierra Nevada!