9. Connecting with Consumers >
9.4 Consumer Affairs
From Your Lips to Our Ears
The Ben & Jerry’s Consumer Services Team knows firsthand what so much of the research shows: Ben & Jerry’s ice cream fans are likely to develop a personal relationship with our brand. So when the phone rings or the mail box fills up, we embrace the chance to make a real connection with our consumers. We’ve found most folks to be thoughtful, intelligent, and passionate about our ice cream and the values of our company. But regardless of the nature of the communication, we strive to listen carefully and capture the messages we receive in a format to ensure that consumer voices are heard within our company. Most of all, we welcome our customers to keep in touch.
Messages from 2006
Over 60,000 people took the time to contact us about our company’s products, practices, and Social Mission activities in 2006, up significantly from last year. The good news is that many of these contacts contained praise for Ben & Jerry’s, offering us compliments on our products, our environmental practices, or our Social Mission.
However, the majority of our contacts for the entire year came in a two-month period at the end of the summer when many consumers, spurred on by the Humane Society of the United States, called or wrote to encourage us to source the eggs we use in our ice cream from cage-free suppliers. Our Consumer Services department answered many phone calls on this topic and received almost too many e-mails and comments in our online comment box to count. We even opened a few old-fashioned letters from folks encouraging us to make the switch to cage-free. On the phone, some people were understanding and took the time to talk with us about the challenges involved in making the switch. Other callers shared their thoughts and hung up quickly, and some were just downright rude.
The message got through, though, and in October, Ben & Jerry’s announced it will transition to using entirely Certified Humane cage-free eggs over a four-year period beginning in 2007. It’s fair to say that consumer voices raised the profile of this issue within our Company and sped up a decision that we had been contemplating for some time. In the months that followed, we’re pleased to say that we got many calls thanking us for being one of the first major food manufacturers in the U.S. to source cage-free eggs. When it was all said and done, contacts regarding Animal Rights were up an astounding 44,666.66% over last year. Now, that’s a spike!
On all other issues, consumer contacts were up 7% in 2006. E-mail contacts increased 13%, letters declined 12.6%, and telephone calls were essentially flat. Our FAQ page saw less activity in 2006 than in 2005, down 15% from 2005 numbers. However, searches for our FAQ pages were up 8%, which is an indicator that our consumers are finding what they are looking for more easily without having to ask for help.
Complaints
The top three complaints we heard from consumers were the following:
- Product texture/temperature abuse (exposure to temperature fluctuations): We saw an increase of about 0.5% in the number of texture complaints over last year. This is a sign that our ice cream is being handled carefully in both our distribution chain and retail outlets, as sales have increased faster than the rate of complaints.
- Ratio/Size (add-ins/ingredient issues): We experienced a 4.5% decrease in complaints about goodies in the mix (too small, too big, not enough, poor distribution or missing), a good sign that most people are finding what they expect when they crack open their pint.
- Franchise/Scoop Shop Complaints: We received an 11% increase in consumer contacts about their experience in Ben & Jerry’s Scoop Shops, with comments on everything from store cleanliness to customer service. Although that number is higher than we’d like, the feedback is important, and we work to address each issue as quickly as we can.
Praise
- Product: We saw a 68% increase in the number of contacts praising our products. We heard from folks about favorite flavors, we received lots of pictures of people and other creatures enjoying our products, and we were contacted by many students doing projects. It’s always great to hear that folks love our products and want to know more about them!
- Environmental: The number of contacts in this category increased by 19% over 2005. People expressed approval of our environmental efforts, with our Lick Global Warming campaign being one of the top areas of focus. We’re thrilled to see an expanding national consciousness around global warming in particular, and this higher level of consumer interest encourages us to stay on the cutting edge of the movement to address climate change.
- Social Mission: Social Mission compliments were up 40% in 2006 but still well off of years prior to 2005. Comments received praised our American Pie Campaign about federal budget priorities, our support for small-scale family farms, and our Company Social Mission in general.