chipotle tweetBack in April, I learned how overly awesome Twitter was when trying to stalk the cast of Glee. And yesterday, I was reminded of the power of social media by Maxim Senior Editor Seth Porges. Porges has been a loyal customer of Chipotle for years. So we already know he's a smart guy because Chipotle is gosh darn delicious. Have you ever had their honey citrus salad dressing? I drool just thinking about it.

Back to Seth. When he was getting his usual burrito with pinto beans on Monday, a Chipotle employee informed him that his beloved beans are actually cooked with bacon. Porges was pissed! The man, who doesn't eat pork for religious and cultural reasons, took his fury to Twitter. He wrote:

"After more than a decade of ordering Chipotle pinto beans, I was told they have bacon. As a non-pork eatr, I feel ill. cc: @ChipotleMedia"

You'll never guess what happened next:

Porges tweeted once more and sent a frustrated email to the Mexican chain's CEO, Steve Ells, as well as other Chipotle top execs. Within two hours, Porges was contacted by the CEO with an apology, and reassured that the menu panels in the stores will be redesigned to reflect the inclusion of bacon in the bean recipe. Wow. That's some serious customer service, eh?

The thing I love about this? Porges is a senior editor for a major magazine. He has more than 2,400 followers on Twitter. The second he sends his 140-character message into the world, all of them, including vegetarians and other religious non-pork eaters, were informed about the lack of full disclosure on Chipotle's menu, aka, this could have been very bad for Chipotle's fan base, no matter how tasty their food is.

But Chipotle is a company that's apparently very in tune with what their clients want, which seriously worked in their favor. They have Twitter accounts for both their company AND their communications team. It's crazy to think that just by sending three or four angry tweets, an unhappy customer can make a popular restaurant chain spend thousands of dollars updating its menu. But that, my friends, is the power of technology.

Have you ever used Twitter to complain about a restaurant you frequent?

 

Images via Aranami/Flickr, Shawncampbell/Flickr