Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Cracker Barrel back in the news once again as their
diners are sounding the alarm. Here we go, what's reportedly
got them all furious? Now, all right, let's check out
with our public relations expert here, kJ Bladenbauer joins us.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
kJ.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
Welcome in, thanks.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
For being here, Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
Boy, what a nightmare the CEO went through to begin with,
with the changing of the logos and trying to freshen
things up for a broader appeal, which actually kind of
killed them. I can't believe it is that person still there.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
They are, They're still there, still holding on.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
Apparently Cracker Barrel's taking some heat from a bunch of
loyal diners. Not only was the logo a big problem
for them, but apparently now the food quality is starting
to slip. I mean, did they not get the messaging,
you know, the first time around about the logo and
now they're messing with the food?
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Yeah, you know, it seems like they the crisis isn't
just about biscuits or serp for them, they have not
even a logo problem, but identity dressed. Cracker Barrel was
never just about selling food. It's sold nostalgia, consistency, and comfort.
Like this tastes exactly like ifawas taste and when they're
cutting costs, changing recipes, it's created a huge disconnect with
their customers. They don't feel like the brand's evolving. They
(01:05):
feel betrayed by their loyal establishment.
Speaker 1 (01:08):
You know, you remember when Coca Cola thought they'd be
cute and change the recipe for Coca Cola. It's like,
what are you doing? You messing one of the number
one brands in America here and Cracker Barrel. You know,
I'm a huge fan. I love going to Cracker Barrel,
but I'm not going in there if they're going to
homogenize everything. They're doing taking away some of the things
that make it what it is. As you describe, it's
(01:28):
kind of that folksye home thing, you know, let's sit
at grandma's table and have a great meal. And I've
never been disappointed. I haven't been back since all of
this started, just because I'm busy and there's other things
and my family likes to do then, you know, just
but we love Cracker Barrel. So are they going to
come off this and get back to the original recipes?
I mean, what's the what's the reasoning behind all this well.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
I think they want to involve the brand right. They
want to be hip and cool. They want to step
into twenty twenty six in the future like everyone else.
But they don't have a branding problem anymore. They now
have a trust issue again. They're built on comfort and consistent.
They don't have that right now. It was supposed to
be the same food every time he's pulled off a highway.
If Cracker Barrel wants to regain customers, they need to
be honest about what changed. Restore at least one iconic
(02:10):
dish the original way all the way, full recipe, and
prove the experience still matches the memories customers expects, because
in the restaurant business, you're not losing people over the press,
you're losing them at the table because it's not the
promise and consistency it was built on.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
Yeah, if you want to put different pain colors or
change the logo around a little bit, that's one thing.
But boy, the customer base certainly reacted to that, and
basically the messaging from the consumer to Cracker Barrel was,
don't mess with our place. It's not yours, big CEO.
Let's get hip world. We like going to Grandma's house
on Sunday afternoon, having her old recipes, you know, after
(02:43):
we get out of church, and I'd like my mashed
potatoes with some gravy that tastes like grandma's, so quit
messing with it. You can give me a bunch of
box crap that tastes like something you get in prison.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
Yeah, exactly exactly. They need to stop pretending that nothing's
changed and be radically honest about what was altered, why
it was done, and what's coming back, because customers are
going to respect that clarity more than any perfection.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
Well do you think she's coming back? I mean, the
toothpaste has kind of left the tube. Heer on this thing.
She didn't learn the right way on the logo, and
now here we go and customers are laving because what
actually is going into their mouth, what cracker barrel stands
for is different. And if you're going to do that,
we're going to find someplace else to do it. So
what's the fix? Now? Are they going to keep her
around to go? Mistake number three?
Speaker 2 (03:24):
You know, I think it probably be wise for them
to take a real hard look at how they're running
things and who's running things, because the stock price drop,
the traffic decline. They're lagging indicators that the damage has
already happened in their dining room. So no rebrand, no campaign,
no apology tour is going to work. If the food's
still disappoints. They need to be radically honest about what's changed,
and they need to invite customers into the fix, acknowledge
(03:45):
their longtime diners publicly, even like we're testing the old way,
to come in and tell us if we've gotten it right,
and turn all these critics into collaborators once again.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
Yeah, I think you're right on the trust issue. It
can no longer come from this woman's desk. Okay, all right,
well let me tell you here's what we're going to
do this time.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
Now.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
We don't believe you so out. What would you do
if you're the boss of Cracker Barrel and you're seeing
all this and they brought you and the board of
directors said, kJ, you're an expert in public relations, how
do we fix this?
Speaker 2 (04:12):
I think we'd immediately be looking at who's in charge.
I think we'd be having some people step back. I
think we'd be having other people step up. But the
first thing we'd be doing is say hey, we're sorry
that we change the things that you love. We'd have
an apology, it would be sincere, and we'd invite the
customers in. We'd show here's what we're changing. We give
them a behind the scenes and we'd invite them to
be like, come taste test this, tell us if we've
gotten it right. We're bringing these things back. Sorry that
(04:34):
we tried to change, and we took awa year in nostalgia,
but come back in family is still same, everything else
is still the same. We're not going to change on
you again. I think that's what they need to do,
and that's what I suggest they do.
Speaker 1 (04:44):
You know, artificial intelligence is such a big thing these
days in all of our lives. I'd actually bring the
guy off the rocking chair into real life AI wise
and say, I know you've all been dissatisfied with the
way things were, and I've come back and they've contacted me,
and I want to bring it back and have him
the spokesperson, or get Andy Griffith to be AI and
talk about how the brand is going back to the
(05:04):
way it used to be with ant Bee's cooking and
we're gonna get real about this and they've made the
changes at the top. When we realize you make all
the difference, cracker barrel customer, and come on back. We're
back to the way we used to be.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
I mean, yeah, that's a great idea. That's a great
idea for them. You know, their brand again, it was
built on the idea that some things shouldn't change. Their
mistake wasn't involving. It was changing the wrong things and
forgetting which things matter the most to their loyal customer base.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
Yeah, read the room a little tone daff over there
in the CEO's office a cracker Barrel kJ great advice
and a good perspective on that as well. Thank you
so much,
Cracker Barrel back in the news once again as their
diners are sounding the alarm. Here we go, what's reportedly
got them all furious? Now, all right, let's check out
with our public relations expert here, kJ Bladenbauer joins us.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
kJ.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
Welcome in, thanks.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
For being here, Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
Boy, what a nightmare the CEO went through to begin with,
with the changing of the logos and trying to freshen
things up for a broader appeal, which actually kind of
killed them. I can't believe it is that person still there.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
They are, They're still there, still holding on.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
Apparently Cracker Barrel's taking some heat from a bunch of
loyal diners. Not only was the logo a big problem
for them, but apparently now the food quality is starting
to slip. I mean, did they not get the messaging,
you know, the first time around about the logo and
now they're messing with the food?
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Yeah, you know, it seems like they the crisis isn't
just about biscuits or serp for them, they have not
even a logo problem, but identity dressed. Cracker Barrel was
never just about selling food. It's sold nostalgia, consistency, and comfort.
Like this tastes exactly like ifawas taste and when they're
cutting costs, changing recipes, it's created a huge disconnect with
their customers. They don't feel like the brand's evolving. They
(01:05):
feel betrayed by their loyal establishment.
Speaker 1 (01:08):
You know, you remember when Coca Cola thought they'd be
cute and change the recipe for Coca Cola. It's like,
what are you doing? You messing one of the number
one brands in America here and Cracker Barrel. You know,
I'm a huge fan. I love going to Cracker Barrel,
but I'm not going in there if they're going to
homogenize everything. They're doing taking away some of the things
that make it what it is. As you describe, it's
(01:28):
kind of that folksye home thing, you know, let's sit
at grandma's table and have a great meal. And I've
never been disappointed. I haven't been back since all of
this started, just because I'm busy and there's other things
and my family likes to do then, you know, just
but we love Cracker Barrel. So are they going to
come off this and get back to the original recipes?
I mean, what's the what's the reasoning behind all this well.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
I think they want to involve the brand right. They
want to be hip and cool. They want to step
into twenty twenty six in the future like everyone else.
But they don't have a branding problem anymore. They now
have a trust issue again. They're built on comfort and consistent.
They don't have that right now. It was supposed to
be the same food every time he's pulled off a highway.
If Cracker Barrel wants to regain customers, they need to
be honest about what changed. Restore at least one iconic
(02:10):
dish the original way all the way, full recipe, and
prove the experience still matches the memories customers expects, because
in the restaurant business, you're not losing people over the press,
you're losing them at the table because it's not the
promise and consistency it was built on.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
Yeah, if you want to put different pain colors or
change the logo around a little bit, that's one thing.
But boy, the customer base certainly reacted to that, and
basically the messaging from the consumer to Cracker Barrel was,
don't mess with our place. It's not yours, big CEO.
Let's get hip world. We like going to Grandma's house
on Sunday afternoon, having her old recipes, you know, after
(02:43):
we get out of church, and I'd like my mashed
potatoes with some gravy that tastes like grandma's, so quit
messing with it. You can give me a bunch of
box crap that tastes like something you get in prison.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
Yeah, exactly exactly. They need to stop pretending that nothing's
changed and be radically honest about what was altered, why
it was done, and what's coming back, because customers are
going to respect that clarity more than any perfection.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
Well do you think she's coming back? I mean, the
toothpaste has kind of left the tube. Heer on this thing.
She didn't learn the right way on the logo, and
now here we go and customers are laving because what
actually is going into their mouth, what cracker barrel stands
for is different. And if you're going to do that,
we're going to find someplace else to do it. So
what's the fix? Now? Are they going to keep her
around to go? Mistake number three?
Speaker 2 (03:24):
You know, I think it probably be wise for them
to take a real hard look at how they're running
things and who's running things, because the stock price drop,
the traffic decline. They're lagging indicators that the damage has
already happened in their dining room. So no rebrand, no campaign,
no apology tour is going to work. If the food's
still disappoints. They need to be radically honest about what's changed,
and they need to invite customers into the fix, acknowledge
(03:45):
their longtime diners publicly, even like we're testing the old way,
to come in and tell us if we've gotten it right,
and turn all these critics into collaborators once again.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
Yeah, I think you're right on the trust issue. It
can no longer come from this woman's desk. Okay, all right,
well let me tell you here's what we're going to
do this time.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
Now.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
We don't believe you so out. What would you do
if you're the boss of Cracker Barrel and you're seeing
all this and they brought you and the board of
directors said, kJ, you're an expert in public relations, how
do we fix this?
Speaker 2 (04:12):
I think we'd immediately be looking at who's in charge.
I think we'd be having some people step back. I
think we'd be having other people step up. But the
first thing we'd be doing is say hey, we're sorry
that we change the things that you love. We'd have
an apology, it would be sincere, and we'd invite the
customers in. We'd show here's what we're changing. We give
them a behind the scenes and we'd invite them to
be like, come taste test this, tell us if we've
gotten it right. We're bringing these things back. Sorry that
(04:34):
we tried to change, and we took awa year in nostalgia,
but come back in family is still same, everything else
is still the same. We're not going to change on
you again. I think that's what they need to do,
and that's what I suggest they do.
Speaker 1 (04:44):
You know, artificial intelligence is such a big thing these
days in all of our lives. I'd actually bring the
guy off the rocking chair into real life AI wise
and say, I know you've all been dissatisfied with the
way things were, and I've come back and they've contacted me,
and I want to bring it back and have him
the spokesperson, or get Andy Griffith to be AI and
talk about how the brand is going back to the
(05:04):
way it used to be with ant Bee's cooking and
we're gonna get real about this and they've made the
changes at the top. When we realize you make all
the difference, cracker barrel customer, and come on back. We're
back to the way we used to be.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
I mean, yeah, that's a great idea. That's a great
idea for them. You know, their brand again, it was
built on the idea that some things shouldn't change. Their
mistake wasn't involving. It was changing the wrong things and
forgetting which things matter the most to their loyal customer base.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
Yeah, read the room a little tone daff over there
in the CEO's office a cracker Barrel kJ great advice
and a good perspective on that as well. Thank you
so much,
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