Dive Summary:

• In recent days two supermarket chains have announced they were being sold. As would surprise no one who has ever visited a social-media site, many customers were upset.
• Albertsons, which announced it would buy United, responded to online comments promptly, thoughtfully and professionally. (You can follow some Facebook conversations here.)
• Fresh & Easy, which announced it would be acquired by billionaire Ron Burkle, ignored comments. (You can see its Facebook threads here.)

Dive Insight:

Ignoring customer comments online is an exceedingly bad idea, as even the most junior person at a public-relations company can tell you. In fact, it's hard to imagine that a major company wouldn't know this. Our guess is that this faux pas had less to do with ignorance about social media and more to do with the nature of the deals. We'd guess that executives from Albertsons and United had time to talk, strategize and divide responsibilities on a slew of things -- including social media. Fresh & Easy executives certainly knew the company was for sale, but it's conceivable that they were unsure just how Burkle's Yucaipa Cos. wanted them to handle social media. And rather than make a decision on their own, even an easy decision, they waited in vain for guidance.