Nando's MY stirs up online chatter with 'leaked' internal email about customer complaints

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Nando's Malaysia had consumers doing a double-take at their emails over the weekend when they received an email titled "RE:FW:FW:RE:FW:[URGENT]RE:RE:RE: Customer Complaint". Users initially thought they were accidentally copied in an internal email involving Nando's customer experience and marketing teams.

"Hi CX team, Kindly find attached and the link below to the thigh complaints for your action. Don't worry guys, we're finally creating a new boneless chicken meal made from thigh. Sabar ye," a social media executive named Farah Alina said.

In response, Harizul from Nando's customer experience team acknowledged receipt of the complaints and said: "Wahh, tak sabar! Tiap tiap hari customer complain takde thigh."

Confused customers took to Twitter asking if it was a marketing stunt by Nando's and some praised the brand for its creative marketing. Others also took to Twitter to verify if Nando's had accidentally sent the email thread to its customer database.

https://twitter.com/NaqiahJ/status/1431447782254997510
https://twitter.com/dianaYzarin/status/1431873883158630411
https://twitter.com/kiong21/status/1431540759593893890

Meanwhile, others weren't amused and asked Nando's to investigate how its internal emails were being distributed to customers.

https://twitter.com/azmieydaud/status/1432013227982942213
https://twitter.com/wazienwafa/status/1432083997794865155
https://twitter.com/NanNa_2503/status/1431459117290319873

While Nando's did not initially explicitly address the email, it tweeted a screenshot of a customer complaining about not receiving all thighs for his full platter order despite putting in a request. Shortly after, it revealed that the customer complaints were made up and that there will be a new menu offering today. "Guess the juicy news has spilt...Hope everyone enjoyed a bit of detective work with our cheeky (made-up) customer complaints," the brand tweeted along with an image that read: "To the thigh lovers we've let down before, you know how we really sayang you right?" The marketing stunt was done by Fishermen Integrated.

https://twitter.com/NandosMY/status/1431798766454063112

Nando's senior manager Elaine Chiew told A+M that its Nando’s PERi-PERi Chicken Chop campaign was one that was 100% inspired by customers insights. The idea to “leak” made-up internal email and customer complaints also showed the brand’s personality.

"We believe that all Nando’s communications should be fiery and fun yet caring as well. The leaked email we sent out was crafted to entertain our customers whilst telling them that we always do our best to listen to our customers and this time round, it’s by saying that we will provide an additional option for chicken thigh lovers," she added.

Meanwhile, Fishermen Integrated's head of social media, Chong Wei Ling, told A+M that working with Nando's means needing to do things differently and creatively. Hence, the team decided to push this idea a little further to capture netizens’ attention. Chong added:

It’s unconventional to utilise an EDM in this manner, but this has also proven that creating a buzz on digital doesn’t always have to be limited to creating social postings.

Nando's is known for its witty marketing stunts and this is not the first time it has intentionally stirred up confusion among consumers as part of a marketing promo. The brand wished consumers Selamat Hari Raya and a Happy Chinese New Year last September, and the posts were an attempt to raise awareness about its RM10 promotion for its full platter of four to Re-Celebrate 2020. While some consumers were quick to point out of this was part of a marketing stunt, one netizen called for the Nando's employee who created the posts to resign or change posts since "the management [does not] understand Asia's festive seasons".

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