At Dine Brands, there are high standards for the guest experience. Social media customer care is no exception – but the team at Dine was struggling to maintain the same high level of quality service on social channels compared to phone or email.
With no integration of social posts into the Guest Relations team’s workflow, agents were not set up for success in social care. They were managing guest Facebook direct messages for both brands (Applebee’s and IHOP) within the native platform, having to copy and paste guest information and responses into their CRM. This led to slower response times and high handle times.
Lack of integration also meant social care efforts weren’t being measured on par with other communication channels. It was difficult to hold the team accountable for something that wasn’t tracked or measured, so responding to guest questions on social media often fell to the bottom of the priority list.
This challenge presented a real opportunity to create positive change.
Social care integrated seamlessly alongside other channels
The Guest Relations team at Dine Brands had been using Emplifi Agent, the customer engagement CRM, to manage cases across their communication channels – except for social media. Adding Emplifi Social Engage for social media management has allowed them to seamlessly integrate social posts into their regular queue and workflow.
Emplifi Social Engage can listen for relevant, actionable posts across digital channels and identify which posts need attention from the Guest Relations team. Social cases are automatically placed in the agent queue and are resolved the same way as any other channel. No more constantly switching screens and duplicating work!
Not only has this improvement led to shorter average handle times and quicker response times, it has provided a better guest experience and allowed Dine to accurately track and measure their social care efforts.
"Wherever and however our guests want to communicate, we want to be there for the guest," said Alex Bresette, Director of Guest Relations for Dine Brands. "Whether they’re looking for a warm, empathetic engagement on the phone, or to discuss through a social channel, Emplifi enables our team to provide that for our guests."
Faster response times, better data, less stress
With Emplifi Social Engage, the Dine Brands Guest Relations team has been able to reduce their average handle time on social cases from five minutes to only one. And they are now able to manage social media cases every day of the week, just as they would any other type of case.
Plus, better tracking of social cases allows the Dine team to measure their success and capture valuable guest data. Emplifi’s software supports the unique needs of restaurants, enabling Dine to accomplish their goal of making sure guest feedback is heard while passing feedback back to their franchisees quickly, and gathering all the necessary case details, such as restaurant location, date and time of visit, check number, and so on.
In the future, Dine is looking to use Emplifi Social Engage to add guest support on even more channels. They’re also focused on continuous improvement, with ideas coming from agents as well as leadership experience. Because of the configurable nature of Emplifi’s solutions, many of these ideas have been applied by the team right away. The Dine team also appreciates that Emplifi has listened and implemented many of their product feature enhancement suggestions.
"Emplifi has made life a lot easier," added Bresette. "The whole process has been smooth, from working with our wonderful Customer Success Manager to add Emplifi Social Engage to our solution, to implementing and managing the tool with our expert Program Manager, the Emplifi team was available, responsive, and knowledgeable."
The takeaway
With the Emplifi product suite, Dine Brands can capture consumer feedback and enhance the guests’ experience. They also have access to valuable insights to accurately track and measure their social care efforts.
Are you ready to improve your customer’s experience? Schedule a demo with an Emplifi expert today.
