Companies and communication

The Role of Company Communication

Fast food with a side of communication

 There is a saying about Business and their customers. "Have a good experience tell a few friends, have a Bad experience tell ten friends". In an age of social media and the internet, it doesn't take much for something to become viral. The social media site Twitter is a prime example of how fast something can be shown around the world. Customer service is something companies have begun to realize is vital to maintaining a steady stream of customers. A quote by Dan Cathy the current president of chick fil states "The word ‘restaurant' means place of restoration, and we think of Chick-fil-A as an oasis where people can be restored. We strive to treat people better than the place down the street. One way we do that is by remembering that we're all people with a lot of emotional things going on that don't necessarily show on the surface, so we try to offer amenities and kindness that minister to the heart,"

 Video game communication

Good customer services expand to more than just fast food restaurants. The gaming giant Blizzard entertainment have shown time and time again what a relationship with your customers is like. Recently Blizzard released one of their most successful games Overwatch.

In the game, you play as a group of heroes all with their own unique abilities and back stories. The game has already had its share of news as one of its main characters turned out to be a lesbian. While Blizzard is not the first to expand, the mindset of characters through different genders or sexual preference, they do however understand gaming jargon and slang. One of the more popular gaming terms "GG" stood as an acronym for saying good game meaning that the game was fun, well played, and challenging. Looking to the book this could be defined as a Euphuism. "A vague mild expression that symbolizes something more blunt or harsh" (p. 162) However, people found a way to make this an insult to the other team that lost by saying "GG EZ" meaning that the game was easy and that the other team was not that good. Blizzard decided to take a stand against this unsportsmanlike conduct.

 As seen by the picture if the person typed "GG EZ" it would autocorrect to some sort of joke about them or to saying something nicer about the other team. What this shows is that Blizzard not just wants to make a fair and fun environment for their players but that they understand the slang used by the players.  Blizzard also went out of their way to include a diverse cast of men and women. In the game, the women are all soldiers all with different back stories. These characters combat the typical masculine gender roles (p. 52) through numerous ways and their back stories.

 These companies understand the value of communicating with their customers and thus have built a strong base with their clients. In chapters 5 and 2 they address gender and gender norms and how the subcultures communicate with each other along with the power associated with them.

References:

A lesson in customer service from Chick-fil-A. (n.d.). Retrieved March 27, 2017, from https://www.sas.com/en_us/insights/articles/marketing/a-lesson-in-customer-service-from-chick-fil-a.html

Floyd, K. (2011). Interpersonal Communication (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw Hill.

Overwatch Lead Writer Discusses Diversity and New Webcomic. (n.d.). Retrieved March 27, 2017, from https://www.gamespot.com/articles/overwatch-lead-writer-discusses-diversity-and-new-/1100-6446434/

Overwatch Update Replaces "GG EZ" in Chat With Embarrassing Expressions. (n.d.). Retrieved March 27, 2017, from https://www.gamespot.com/articles/overwatch-update-replaces-gg-ez-in-chat-with-embar/1100-6442759/