California Pizza Kitchen (CPK) quickly turned a kitchen error (and potential PR disaster) into a viral marketing stunt, thanks to the restaurant's witty response to an unhappy customer.
Last week, TikTok user @fumptruck posted a video detailing her disappointment with the pizza chain.
While going through "the worst week of her life," the user, going by Garage Gremlin, ordered Mac 'N' Cheese from CPK hoping to feel a bit better.
Due to a kitchen error, she ended up receiving a takeout container full of just cheese — with no macaroni to be found.
Clearly stressed, she explained how the restaurant management handled the situation poorly, telling her that she ordered the wrong item despite her receipt saying otherwise.
The video quickly went viral, gaining 3.7 million views and over 500 thousand likes as of today.
This prompted CPK to respond with the perfect apology.
When Life Gives You Only Cheese
Days after the video was posted, CPK sent Garage Gremlin a big surprise: a big box of macaroni noodles.
In another TikTok posted by Garage Gremlins, she showed that the box of goodies also came with a certificate for a year's supply of Mac 'N' Cheese.
As a bonus, she opened what seemed to be an empty pizza box to reveal another certificate for a year of free pizza.
The unboxing video quickly went viral after its release, gaining over 1.2 million views and 500,000 likes within three days.
Additionally, CPK posted a video to its own TikTok account featuring the company's Senior Director of Culinary Development Paul Pszybylski.
In the video, Chef Paul cheekily demonstrates how CPK's Mac 'N' Cheese should be prepared in response to the "confusion" around how it's made.
"Step one, cook the cheese. Step two, cook the mac," Paul says in a humorously deadpan way.
"Step three... add the mac to the cheese," he concluded sarcastically.
In a surprise twist to the video, he announced that CPK would be giving all of its guests 50% off Mac 'N' Cheese for the rest of the month to apologize for recently giving a certain guest "half a mac and cheese."
Customers can use the promo code cheeseANDmac until July 31 to claim the deal.
Gaining 9.6 million views and 1.2 million likes on TikTok within just three days, CPK's clever response is an excellent example of how viral marketing can spark interest and engagement, as well as broaden a brand's audience reach.
Editing by Katherine 'Makkie' Maclang
