When customers Twitter about their experiences, businesses are “listening.” At least restaurants are beginning to pay more attention. Some owners are strategically interacting with customers that Tweet about their restaurants.

QUESTIONS:

M1. Think about Tweets like the one made by Mr. Bosco. Is it data or information? How much does it really matter to a restaurant such as Wow Bao (after all, Mr. Bosco was still going to dinner there)? If you argue that these Tweets are useful, identify the criteria they satisfy.

M2. Discuss how technologies like Twitter and Facebook are changing the way organizations do business. What barrier is being broken?

M3. Not all social information is processed the same, as evidenced by Graham Elliott’s responses. How do openness to problem solving and thinking styles influence the way a restaurant owner might deal with a wide variety of Tweets?

SOURCE: S. Dai, “Restaurants Turning to Twitter to Fix Customer Complaints,” USA Today (Retrievable online at http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/food/2010-09-25-restaurants-using-twitter_N.htm)