Photo by Grant Beirute on Unsplash
Krispy Kreme Responded to Cell Phone Outage With SOS Doughnuts
February 23, 2024
Doughnut chain Krispy Kreme responded to the U.S. statewide cell phone outage on Feb. 22 by providing free baked goods to its customers. It announced the promotion on its Facebook page.
The post read, “SOS?! While your service is down, we’re serving up! FREE Original Glazed® doughnut from 5-7pm today for anyone who’s struggled with service. Look for the Hot Light!”
No other purchases were necessary, but customers were limited to one free Original Glazed doughnut apiece. Additional restrictions were found in the fine print of Krispy Kreme’s post.
A representative for Krispy Kreme told Nexstar that the offer was “sweet relief” for customers who had to deal with service outages. Those affected customers did not have to provide proof or evidence of service disruptions.
Krispy Kreme took the opportunity to generate a little brand goodwill and drive customers into their stores. This quickly turned into a social media campaign. But it’s not the first time the chain has introduced such a giveaway of its products.
In 2021, the doughnut chain offered a free doughnut to customers who received the COVID-19 vaccine. USA Today reported that consumers who showed a valid vaccination card at locations were eligible for a free Original Glazed doughnut.
That same year, Krispy Kreme also gave customers free doughnuts and coffee on Mondays. At that time, David Skena, Krispy Kreme’s chief marketing officer, told USA Today, “It’s a new work week, it’s been a long year since lockdown, so why don’t you take out a little time for yourself and have a nice cup of coffee and a doughnut,”Â
Krispy Kreme has also given out free doughnuts on special occasions like Halloween for wearing a costume, Election Day, and recently on St. Patrick’s Day for consumers who wore green.
The cell phone outage that promoted the free doughnut giveaway affected thousands of users across the United States beginning early on Thursday, Feb. 22, before it was restored. According to ABC News, AT&T blamed the incident on a coding error.
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