It seems amazing that by now, corporations have to be told that if they try to sabotage competitor efforts by suspicious activities that include posing as a customer, it is never EVER worth the risk. Particularly in an age when it is easier to spread information through the likes of YouTube, Twitter, blogging and more.

But some still try anyway.

Case in point: I’ve been reading about an effort by a certain manufacturer of fast-food chicken products (take a wild guess) to make “anonymous” phone calls to a competitor, telling that competitor how much they preferred someone else’s product. All because that competitor was running a promotion in which customers were encouraged to call in and vote for their favorite chicken, Fast Food Chain A or Fast Food Chain B.

What do you think happened next? The “anonymous” calls were traced and that famous chicken manufacturer of 11-herb-and-spice fame was found out.

And now their competitor has not only recorded the anonymous calls but that competitor has called them out on YouTube:

http://fastfood.freedomblogging.com/2009/05/01/kfc-prank-calling-ocs-el-pollo-loco/19691/

Think about this the next time you try to pose as a customer. I know, you may think you’d never dream of doing something like this. But then, consider how many large companies in several types of industries are getting caught for underhanded ethical practices and how it is pummeling their brand equity, if not killing their company entirely.

Don’t mistake this with calling out your competitor in open, head-to-head competition. In certain cases, that’s appropriate because that’s still you, the company, putting all your cards on the table. You’re saying, “This is what we stand for and we believe in our product/service so much, we’re not afraid of the results.” That’s being brave. That’s being genuine. That’s being transparent.

Posing as a customer to sway results in your favor? That’s just being stupid.

Post to Twitter