I am not sure the promo in this case is so organized as to create "bad profits" although I do agree that such a thing exists. I DO think that the real win was the engagement...reaching out in real-time. These is a lot of "love" being bought by the engagement...the coupon just helps cement the relationship since problems eventually occur.

Case in point...I was in a PFC in MD recently. First, only one of our two meals was initially delivered... the second came 7-8 minutes later when they realized the mistake. The table was never cleared...we just kept pushing plates off to the side. Then the wrong drink order was delivered. Finally, the the bill rang up wrong. All things considered, it did not make for a perfect impression, but the food, and my past experience with PFC's, were good enough to likely overcome the problems. But like any service chain dependent on lots of lower level staff to deliver on "awesome", creating more outreach and little goodies to drive WOM, is immensely valuable for overcoming the hitches that always crop up.