Price Chopper in Twitter Tussle

SN STAFF

ROTTERDAM, N.Y. – Officials of Price Chopper were working Tuesday to simmer down a social-media fire that began last week when an exchange between an unhappy customer and a Price Chopper employee on Twitter was recounted on a blog.

The customer had complained in a Twitter post about out-of-stock produce, according to reports. A Price Chopper employee then contacted both the message writer and his employer, requesting that the individual be disciplined.

The matter was recounted in a blog by Anthony J. Rotolo, an assistant professor and social media strategist at Syracuse University’s School of Information Studies.

The Price Chopper employee who responded was not authorized to respond for the company, and did not follow company procedures, according to Heidi Reale, director of consumer insights for Price Chopper. Reale posted an apology on a blog recounting the incident Monday.