Running Head: Häagen-Dazs Loves Honey Bees: Let’s Lick This Problem Häagen-Dazs Loves Honey Bees: Let’s Lick This Problem Kathryn J. Harrington The Pennsylvania State University 1 2 Häagen-Dazs Loves Honey Bees Consumer Relations Consumer relations is a topic that public relations professionals often help a company with. Consumer relations is extremely important because it can increase brand loyalty and even boost a company’s overall reputation. A trend in consumer awareness can provide new opportunities to create relationships with a large group of people. (Hendrix, 2013) Through effective consumer relations businesses can benefit in a number of ways, and PR professionals can help these businesses communicate and interact with the public. This can help the brand gain new customers, bring new light to the product, have old customers continue to stay loyal, and overall create a brand image that is positive and strong. There are a number of different cases where public relations firms worked with a company to strengthen consumer relations. One in particular, Häagen-Dazs Loves Honey Bees, was a case study that connected social responsibility to a consumer product. This brand realized that they were losing relevance to their consumers, and had to create a campaign to improve their consumer relations and become relevant once more. In the end, their campaign proved to be extremely successful, as I will go on to explain. 3 Häagen-Dazs Loves Honey Bees Overview Häagen-Dazs, as you may know, is a brand whose product is ice cream. Häagen-Dazs markets itself as “Made Like No Other,” since it is made only from all-natural ingredients. It has managed to stand out from its competitors because of this factor, and its consumers are people who are conscious of what they eat and being healthy. Even though they had the all-natural advantage, through a situational analysis the company realized that while they were a strong brand, they had begun to lose relevance among their consumers. They were looking for a way to re-gain relevance, and increase their consumer relations so that their brand could boost sales and re-ignite passion for their product in the ice cream lovers community. The brands core foundation is built upon its commitment to all-natural ingredients, so they wanted to create a campaign that highlighted this. They discovered a problem that no other brand or company was working with. This unique problem was that honey bees were disappearing rapidly because of a phenomenon called Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). Since honey bees contribute to much of what we eat, and 40 percent of HD’s natural ingredients, HD took this opportunity and ran with it. They had found a link between their products natural ingredients and the publics social responsibility. Their campaign ended up being extremely successful for a number of reasons, and continues to be successful today. 4 Häagen-Dazs Loves Honey Bees Research HD began their honey bee campaign by conducting both primary and secondary research. For primary research, the company used focus groups to get information on consumer awareness, engagement, and attitude toward the honey bee issue, and the brand’s possible role in the cause. (Hendrix, 2013) The information that the company gained from the focus groups included: When consumers see HD supporting the cause and educating people about the issue, they feel positive about the brand and its involvement. Creating awareness about the issue makes consumers feel that the brand truly cares and is not just interested in sales The cause helps consumers feel more connected to the brand; there is a sense of “we’re in it together.” (Hendrix, 2013) As for the secondary research, HD found that no other food brand was working with this issue. This issue is a major problem because honey bees are very important to the U.S. food supply, and not just important for ice cream. As you can see, the primary and secondary research proved to HD that saving the honey bees could be the key to improving relevance of their brand. 5 Häagen-Dazs Loves Honey Bees Strategic Plan As they began their campaign, they set their goals and objectives. The company turned to PR to help make these goals and objectives a reality, and they partnered with the PR firm Ketchum. The business goals for the campaign were: Drive sales of HD’s new Vanilla Honey Bee and products carrying the honey bee “cause” symbol. Increase 2008 revenue growth by 1 percent over 2007. Awareness/Comprehension Goals: Increase awareness of the honey bee issue and the HD loves HB campaign Increase consumer media impressions on the HD brand by 25 percent over 2007 levels (total media goal: 125 million impressions in year one) Behavior Goals: Convince consumers to plant bee-friendly habitats. Achieve HD’s first-year goal of planting one million bee-friendly flowers Drive unique visitors to helpthehoneybees.com (achieve industry average of five page views per visit) Increase consumer recommendations of HD over Q1 levels (Hendrix, 2013) HD knew that they had a worthy cause, a cause that affects up to 1/3 of all foods and 40 percent of their own ice cream flavors. HD had two strategies to reaching their goals. The first was that they wanted to give consumers a way to engage better and more frequently with their brand by educating them about the problem of the disappearing Häagen-Dazs Loves Honey Bees 6 honey bees. The second was that they were the first national consumer brand to raise awareness and support the honey bee issue, and they could use that to their advantage. This issue would then start to be known by consumers, while reminding the audience of the brands all-natural ingredients and linking honey bees with HD. (Hendrix, 2013) They decided that the target audience would be people ages 35-54, and for both males and females. They decided this target audience because they assumed that most people in this age group have children (what child doesn’t love ice cream), that this group was highly educated, active, and lived in both urban and suburban living. Active and healthy individuals was important factors for the target audience since HD cares about its’ all- natural products, and this group would be concerned with the honey bees disappearing since it contributes to a lot of healthy foods. These people would be happy and willing to help contribute to a sustainable society, and HD found that they were more willing to do this if it was through hassle-free actions. (Hendrix, 2013) After completing research and creating their goals and objectives, HD set out in the execution of this campaign. They did this in a number of different ways to really get this issue “buzzing.” One of the ways they did this was by conducting more research to see what organizations and universities were already trying to raise awareness about this issue and to solve CCD. The brand donated 250,000 to Pennsylvania State University and the University of California, Davis (UCD) for sustainable pollution and CCD research. They donated another 10,000 to The Pollinator Partnership, which is dedicated to preserving honey bee health. From here, the brand also created an advisory board called the Bee Board, made- up of members from PSU and UCD, to help the brand and make sure that communication and facts were correct. Two beekeepers were also on the Bee Häagen-Dazs Loves Honey Bees 7 Board. These Bee Board Members were media spokespeople during the campaign, and delivered different messages that pertained to their expertise. This helped to show the public that the companies information was credible, and made the brand a trustworthy source. Another tactic that they used to execute their campaign was that they produced a new flavor of their product. This new flavor of ice cream, Vanilla Honey Bee, is beedependent. The company had (and still has) a percentage of overall sales of this flavor and all of their other bee-dependent flavors to go toward CCD research. They also created a logo, which they printed on all of their bee-dependent products. Underneath the lid of these products was printed information about CCD to help raise awareness. This goes along with the information they gained from focus groups. The people in the focus groups said that they were especially willing to help it could be through hassle-free actions. If buying ice cream was something that these consumers already did on a regular basis, they wouldn’t have to change their actions at all to help out the cause since a percentage was donated to CCD research. Even though this product was the first national consumer brand to support the honey bee cause, the beekeeping and scientific community had been already trying to solve it before HD took it on. The brand tapped into these communities to help them reach their goal. Before the launch of the campaign, the brand announced to these communities that they were going to be undertaking this problem. These communities were thrilled to be receiving HD’s help, and they spread the word within the industry and to other influencers as well. They became spokespeople for HD loves HB, and helped promote this campaign. Häagen-Dazs Loves Honey Bees 8 The company and Ketchum knew that they had to increase audiences awareness of this unique issue, so they created a media strategy to make sure that they get their campaign out to as many people as possible. The strategy they used for this was to launch the story with a “media multiplier.” CNNMoney.com broke the news of the launch date embargo, because it feeds hundreds of others on the web and drives broadcast and print coverage in local markets throughout the United States. (Hendrix, 2013) They also expanded their targets to include scientific, agricultural, environmental, gardening, and beekeeping trade outlets. The team had national and regional print, broadcast, radio, and online media. They also developed comments from Bee Board members and bees pollinating crops and flowers, which was distributed to regional and national broadcast networks. As stated before, the Bee Members also served as spokespeople for magazine, television, and radio media. By making sure to “leave no media stone unturned” HD was able to promote what they were doing to a large spectrum. (Hendrix, 2013) The advertisements that HD created were unique, and resonated in consumers mind. Goodby Silverstein & Partners helped to create different television media, online media, and print media. The print media was unique and catchy, and one in particular really stands out. It was a page in a magazine, and it read “Plant this page. Save a bee.” Users could actually plant the page in the ground, water it, and grow food that would help the honey bees. Different YouTube videos were created in which men dressed like bees were dancing to both Hip Hop and disco. The large media platform that was created for the public was helpthehoneybees.com. This website had information on CCD, HD’s part in the cause, and even a page where you could create an animated bee and send it via email to help spread the word. The brand also partnered with different websites like Häagen-Dazs Loves Honey Bees 9 Epicurious.com and SeriousEats.com, which helped show the public the importance of the disappearing honey bees. As people searched for recipes on these sites, bees landed next to bee-dependent ingredients so that consumers could see how large this problem really was. Another tactic they used in executing their campaign was the Million Seeds Challenge. The team reached out to different bee supporters online, and asked them to help HD plant one million seeds to create more bee-friendly habitats. HD sent these people packets, “HD loves HB” packets, for them to plant. Another way that they executed was through Capitol Hill. During national Pollinator Week, the brand and The Pollinator Partnership, held a briefing on Capital Hill to explain the problem of the disappearing honey bees, and it was also a HD hosted ice cream social. The Brand Director of HD, Katty Pien, went before the committee on Horticulture and Organic Agriculture to explain CCD. There was different media coverage of this event, which led to more national coverage of the cause. Through all of these different tactics and their strategic plan, HD was able to surpass their goals and have more success than they expected. 10 Häagen-Dazs Loves Honey Bees Evaluation Support and response to the Häagen-Dazs loves Honey Bees campaign was much more than they expected. The brand received the overall result that they were looking for, which was to gain back relevance in consumers and also bring up sales of their products, all while helping the honey bee cause. They surpassed all of their business, awareness/comprehension, and behavior goals. HD’s business goal was to drive sales of their Honey Bee/bee-dependent flavors and also increase their revenue growth by 1 percent over 2007. What actually happened was they saw a 5.2 percent April sales increase- which is the largest single sales spike in a year, and 4 percent growth sustained from April-July 2008. (Hendrix, 2013) HD’s awareness/ comprehension goals included: increase consumer media impressions on the Häagen-Dazs brand by 25 percent over 2007 levels, total media goal: 125 million impressions in year one, and to increase awareness of the honey bee issue and the HD loves HB campaign. These were all also shattered. There were more than 277 million impressions, worth nearly $1.5 million in advertising equivalencies. The 125 million media impressions in one year was surpassed in a mere week. The HD loves HB story was featured or included in more than 1,097 news placements, including CNN, AP, NPR, Today, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Everyday with Rachel Ray. In an analysis, the brand also saw that 93% of all of this media coverage was positive toward the brand. A 12-point increase in the level of PR and talk about the brand/cause was achieved over previous quarters. An Omnibus survey conducted at the end of year one for the campaign showed a large increase in honey bee awareness, knowledge and brand recall; an 8-point increase in awareness of the honey bee issue; a 6- Häagen-Dazs Loves Honey Bees 11 point increase in accurate identification of the issue; HD had the highest unaided brand recall among consumers identifying companies/organizations working to help the honey bees. (Hendrix, 2013) HD’s behavior goals included: convince consumers to plant bee-friendly habitats; drive unique visitors to the website; increase consumer recommendations of HD over Q1 levels. Once again, these goals were all surpassed. More than 1,200,000 bee-friendly flower seeds were distributed to community groups and individuals. 469,798 visitors visited helpthehoneybees.com and engagement in this site was high. When they visited the site, visitors viewed 8 pages per visit (82 percent above industry average) and the number of new visits averaged 76 percent above industry standards. More than 950 consumers and organizations contacted HD with suggestions, offers to collaborate, requests for more information, and compliments on the program. HD also had a 13 percent increase in its brand advocacy rating to 69 percent, which was the highest in the category. (Hendrix,2013) Häagen-Dazs Loves Honey Bees 12 HD loves HB currently While this campaign was launched in 2009, it didn’t stop there and it continues today. The site helpthehoneybees.com is no longer active, but HD is still promoting the cause. Their website has a specific tab for the honey bees, which includes information about the mission, the story, and how to get involved. It also says on their site that “since 2008, Häagen-Dazs ice cream has partnered with leading research facilities to donate more than $1,000,000 to honey bee research.” It goes on to explain that funds raised are used to support the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility at the University of California, Davis. A percentage of sales of their ice cream are also still donated to the research to save the bees, and they also promote that you can donate directly to UC Davis to support their efforts. Häagen-Dazs also made a donation to UC Davis to create a unique outdoor museum where visitors can learn about bees and the plants that support them. This museum is still open year-round, and admission is free. This is a way that Häagen-Dazs can continue to raise awareness about the issue. Since CCD is still a problem, and honey bees still continue to die off today, I think it’s good that HD has stuck with this cause even after six years. Their continued support and donations to researchers helps keep this issue relevant and continue to help researchers work towards solving this problem. Another website was created by Häagen-Dazs, www.breakingnews.org/haagendazs/index.html. This site is home to the HD loves HB press kit. Different tabs include information about the cause, bee facts, press room, partners, the members of the Bee Board, images, and also contact information. This website also includes a news release, that is written after year one of the campaign kick Häagen-Dazs Loves Honey Bees 13 off. This news release was written to inform the public that HD was going to be continuing their campaign efforts to raise money for CCD. Another interesting thing that Häagen-Dazs has recently done to also help with the efforts is launch an app. They launched this app in 2013, which is used to entertain consumers as they wait for their ice cream to temper. This app features two-minute long concerts which helps consumers wait for their ice cream to be ready to eat. They can point their iPhone at the lid of the ice cream carton, and then the app plays a violin performance of Bach, and if the consumer scans a second carton, a cellist will join the violinist. Häagen-Dazs pledged to donate $5 per download to honey bee research at UC Davis for a total donation of up to $75,000. Häagen-Dazs Loves Honey Bees 14 Articles About HD loves HD: http://money.cnn.com/2008/02/17/news/companies/bees_icecream/ This article was published on CNNmoney.com, to break the launch date embargo, because this outlet feeds hundreds of others on the Web and drives broadcast and print coverage in local markets throughout the United States. (Hendrix, 2013) This article gives introduces the public to HD’s efforts, and the campaign before they launched it. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/25/business/worldbusiness/25ihtbee.4.10377347.html?_r=0 This article in the New York Times article explained the HD and HB campaign, and why it is important. This article included different facts and figures about what the honey bee does, and how important it is to different foods. It broke down what the campaign was aiming to do, and how they would go about doing that. “Campaigns like the one being run by Häagen-Dazs may help raise awareness among consumers of the important roles bees play in agriculture, which hopefully will lead to more funds for research, Richard Waycott said.” (Barbassa, 2008) This article brought light to why it is important that HD combats this problem. http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB120188514048935573 Häagen-Dazs Loves Honey Bees 15 This article by the Wall Street Journal is an interview of the Brand Manager, Josh Gellert, at Häagen-Dazs. In this article, Gellert explains what HD loves HB is and why they are raising money for the honey bees. http://www.babyboomers-seniors.com/pdfs/mar08/articles/haagendazs.pdf This news release gives information about honey bees, why they are important, and what Häagen-Dazs is doing to help this cause. http://www.breakingnews.org/haagendazs/press_room.html This news release was published on the Häagen-Dazs site to inform the public that after the first year, the brand would be stepping up for a second year and continuing their efforts to raise money for research to save the honey bees. This news release spelled out what they would be doing to make this happen, why the problem hasn’t been solved already, and ways that the public can help this cause. http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/news/software-technology/15883.html This article describes the app that HD launched in 2013. It includes information about how HD will be donating money, $5 per download, up to $75,000 to research if people download this app. This was a good way to give people an extra incentive to download this new app, as well as continue to spread the word about their efforts to save the honey bees. Häagen-Dazs Loves Honey Bees http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bee-friendly-haagen-dazsr-brand-supportsproposed-overturn-of-new-york-city-beekeeping-ban-85189837.html This article again describes HD’s campaign, and why it is important that consumers get involved. Advertisements and Collateral related to the case: Helpthehoneybees.com: 16 Häagen-Dazs Loves Honey Bees 17 18 Häagen-Dazs Loves Honey Bees Online Videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVFuNzSQai0 This youtube video was created by Goodby, Silverstein & Partners to be submitted for the 2009 Kelly Awards. This video showed two people in bee costumes skipping around, eating ice cream and smiling. Different facts flash on the screen such as: “Honey bees pollinate nearly 1/3 of the natural foods we eat”” The video then gets dark and says, “but sadly, honey bees are disappearing at an alarming rate.” The two bees are shown dead on the floor, and the end scene is the HD love HB logo. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPpLUQEObhA Häagen-Dazs Loves Honey Bees 19 This youtube video was also created by Goodby, Silverstein & Partners. It shows bees dancing to hip hop music, and then all at once dying. I think this was a catchy way to get people’s attention to the larger issue at hand. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hy9qLZWV3Fg This video was the same as the prior one, except this bees were dancing to disco. Part one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ih-H6yYfZzw Part two: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UV0PsNeuJFQ Part three: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7J7fWxcGIQ Häagen-Dazs also created a mini documentary that can be viewed on YouTube in three parts. This documentary explained what CCD is, interviewed different beekeepers, people on the Bee Board, and experts in the field talking about the problem at hand which creates a credible information source for people who are looking to gain information about HD loves HB and why they are doing this campaign. http://www.oneclub.org/#olmag=/_ajax/archive/?action=arc_work%26value=20325 This is the clip that was shown at the One Show, when Goodby, Silverstein and Partners won the Green Pencil, which is awarded to the best environmentallythemed advertisements. 20 Häagen-Dazs Loves Honey Bees Television: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Swfg17Sf0yQ This television commercial is set to opera music, and shows a bee flying through the air. This bee is heading towards a red flower, when it becomes stormy out and the wind pushes the bee away from the flower. It then gives brief information, shows the Häagen-Dazs logo, and gives the helpthehoneybees.com website. This commercial was brief, to the point, and gives the audience background as well as what they need to know to help. Print: Häagen-Dazs Loves Honey Bees 21 Content Analysis of the Coverage: After researching this campaign and the different media elements and advertisements that they created, I think that they were very successful. They had a ton of different mediums for which they disseminated their information to the public, and they did it in a creative way with the help of advertising agencies and Ketchum. They had a number of ways for the public to get educated, like the short documentary that included researchers and professionals that made it credible. The ad that you can plant in the ground was a creative way for the public to get involved in the efforts, while learning about the honey bees issue. I enjoyed all of the advertisements that they created, I think that they are easy to remember and cause a lasting impression. Häagen-Dazs Loves Honey Bees 22 As for coverage of the issue by outside media outlets, after researching the campaign it was clear that it was positive as well. I didn’t find one article that was negative about their efforts, and everything that was written praised the company while giving information out to the public about the cause. This was shown in the analysis by the company, when they found that 93 percent of all media coverage was overwhelmingly positive toward the brand. Personal Analysis and Evaluation of HD loves HB This case study really impressed me. I think that Häagen-Dazs created a unique way to drive up sales as well as promote and help a cause that largely needed support. The honey bees were disappearing, but hadn’t affected HD or the community yet, and I think that it was good that they took this proactive approach. If the honey bees continued to disappear, our food supply and HD’s product would be in big trouble. By creating this campaign, they shed light on the issue before it was too late, all while improving their brand image and increasing their revenue. I remember a television commercial from 2009 that the brand created, which showed a bee trying to reach a flower, and gave the information that the honey bees were disappearing. While I didn’t remember that Häagen-Dazs Loves Honey Bees 23 Häagen-Dazs specifically did this advertisement or ran this campaign, I still knew that the honey bees were in danger thanks to this advertisement before I even started researching this case study. I was also young, so it’s not surprising that in my mind I didn’t link Häagen-Dazs and the honey bees together. I also think that the target audience that they chose was smart, and obviously worked. Something that really stood out to me about this campaign was the advertisements. The ones created for print, online, and television really captivated me and I think that they had a huge part in the success of the campaign. Margaret Johnson was on the team that created many of these advertisements, (Goodby, Silverstein & Partners) and they went on to win the first Green Pencil for One Show. This Green Pencil is awarded to the best environmentally-themed advertising. The One Show website says about the Green Pencil, “As history has proven, the power of advertising can do more than just create awareness for a brand. It can inspire. It can influence. It can even change the fortunes of a brand on a global scale. Just imagine what it could do for our planet.” (One Show, 2015) I think that the HD loves HB campaign did just that. It inspired the public to be proactive about the disappearing honey bees, and make a change to help. I also think that it was a good idea to give a percentage of their sales to the honey bee research. Consumers don’t have to change their habits to help with the cause, especially if these consumers already have been buying their ice cream. I think that this was a good way to strengthen the loyalty with their existing customers, as well as gain new customers. I know that for me, if I were going to buy ice cream, I would go with the one that was helping a cause rather than one that wasn’t. Häagen-Dazs Loves Honey Bees 24 I learned from the case that it is possible to both increase your brand image and revenue while helping out a cause as well. HD was losing relevance with its consumers, and it found a creative approach to fix that as well as proactively help a cause that could drastically affect us. In my mind, I thought that was near impossible. I thought that brands would get some negative attention if they tried to do campaigns like this, in that consumers might just think they are all in it for the money. HD however, connected this cause to something that matters to them, and from all my research it really does seem like HD loves HB! A PR theory that can be seen here is agenda-setting. When the media reports on an issue, it sets the agenda for what the public then is interested in or is paying attention to. Since the HD loves HB campaign generated so much media attention, agenda-setting theory was definitely at work. The media set the agenda, which in turn helped to make the public aware of the issue and interested in making a difference. Another theory that can be connected is cognitive dissonance. When viewing the media about this campaign, people know that honey bees disappearing will effect them. If they don’t do anything, their behavior, which is eating food that is pollinated by honey bees, will be different from their actions. This could cause discomfort, and a way to fix that discomfort could be to aid in the efforts with this campaign. Other people might just ignore the messages completely, but I think that for some the discomfort between two opposing cognitions could get them to change their behavior, positively for the campaign and for honey bee research. A corporation that was going through a similar problem was Hallmark. In today’s age, we are constantly using technology as means of communication, and that puts 25 Häagen-Dazs Loves Honey Bees greeting cards in danger. Hallmark realized that there are so many more options than a greeting card now, and they needed to figure out a way to stay relevant with consumers just like HD. In 2005, they invented a new type of card, the “sound card.” These cards played original songs by original artists, and it was like nothing that the industry had seen before. They went through the same steps as HD, by conducting research, creating goals and objectives, and executing them. They also had a bunch of different media outreach, just like the HD campaign. They ended up being successful, and fueled a 9 percent increase in sales of everyday cards compared with 2005. Both HD and Hallmark increased their sales and re-gained their relevance. A company that should work on its consumer relations is Sears. After doing some research, I found that Sears Holdings, had one of the lowest customer satisfaction scores of the department and discount stores. (USA Today, 2014) This low customer satisfaction is not new, and since 2007 it has had consistently low scores as compared with other department and discount retailers. Sears should hire a PR firm to work on their consumer relations, so as to strengthen their loyalty with existing consumers and bring more customers to their store. While Sears is successful, it was shown that their revenue has slowly decreased, and domestic sales has as well. They should take action before this problem becomes worse. Conclusion Overall, Häagen-Dazs was extremely successful in their campaign. They surpassed all of the goals they had for themselves, and continue to do that today. They didn’t just help out their company and brand image, they are helping the whole community by helping the 26 Häagen-Dazs Loves Honey Bees honey bees. They saw an opportunity to improve their consumer relations, and it absolutely worked to their advantage. Sources 2009. Limeshot Design. Haagen-Dazs Loves Honey Bees (Titanium Silver Lion Cannes 2009). Retrieved from: limeshot.com/2010/haagen-dazs-loves-honey-bees-titaniumsilver-lion-cannes-2009 Johnson, Margaret. http://margaretjohnson.com HD loves HB Press Kit. Retrieved from http://www.breakingnews.org/haagendazs/ag_facts.html Borison, Rebecca. (Aug 5th, 2013). Haagen-Dazs launches augmented reality app to entertain users during temper time. Mobile Marketer. Retrieved at: http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/news/software-technology/15883.html Hendrix, J. (2013) Public Relations Cases. Boston, MA. Wadsworth. Häagen-Dazs Loves Honey Bees Barbassa, Juliana. (Dec. 5th, 2008). Food Companies target honey bee health problems. The New York Times. Retrieved at: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/25/business/worldbusiness/25ihtbee.4.10377347.html?_r=0 Hess, E.M. (March 16th, 2014) Retailers with the worst customer service. USA Today. Retrieved at: http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/03/16/9-retailersworst-customer-service/1991519/ 27