During the week of February 25, 2016 I tried to take advantage of the 7-11 text-message promo to get a free breakfast melt if you purchase any size coffee.
According to 7-11, it is a simple procedure. Send the word “breakfast” to 711711.
Did that. For two days. No breakfast. A lot of wasted time finding and talking to 7-11 customer non-service.
Each time I send the promo code I get back this long message:
“7-11 Alerts: Reply Y to confirm opt-in for autodialed marketing txt msgs from -Eleven to this mobile #. Consent not required to buy goods/services.”
A few things stand out about this response:
- There is no mention of “breakfast”
- The copy editing is bad: note the inconsistent spelling of 7-11
- Consent is not required to buy goods/services; ok, then how do I get my free breakfast melt that requires the purchase of a coffee?
According to my local 7-11 store personnel, who barely understand English, I need to get a response from my “breakfast” message to 711711 that includes a bar code the store can scan.
Calls to 7-11 customer non-service was interesting. After multiple calls, it was apparent the staff was ignorant about this promo. The best they could do was take name and number. Given the speed at which corporations resolve problems, it is likely the promo will be over before they can make the promo work as it should.
Having been involved in quite a few digital projects as project manager and editor, I say without a doubt this promo campaign fails from the user perspective.
Apparently this promo experience was developed by a corporation known as medallia.com. That’s kind of ironic, considering this slug line I found on medallia.com: “Your guides in improving the customer experience.”
