Brrr Charge: How to Spin Bad Luck into Good Will

When the unexpected affects your products and service, how can you turn a suprising negative into a friendly positive?

If you have been to Jamba Juice lately you may have noticed small oranges attached to the descriptions of your favorite drinks on the menu board. Each smoothie that utilizes orange juice now has a small “Brrr Charge” label next to it.

The Brrr Charge is an extra $ .25 fee that is being attached to the price of your drink due to the recent freeze in California that has seriously affected many citrus crops.

With the shortage of high-quality orange juice, Jamba had a few choices:

1. They could have found lesser quality OJ, which would have affected taste and ultimately the customer’s experience.

2. They could have ’swallowed’ the cost and lowered margins for all franchise owners as well as corporate, making for unhappy financial statements. Brrr.

3. Jamba Juice could have raised prices across the menu board to compensate, making all customers wonder why the cost of a premium smoothie drink continues to climb.

4. They may have chosen to not carry these flavors, thus, dissappointing a majority of customers.

Instead of all these choices, which all lead to disappointment, Jamba Juice turned a negative into a positive. By being totally transparent and honest about the freeze trouble; they gain the respect and trust of their customers who are now able to decide just how much they love the orange juice based smoothies. If customers choose these drinks, they will have to pay a little more for the privilege.

I found myself ordering the Orange Dream Machine and happily paying a bit more because the orange taste was well worth the extra quarter.

Another smart move involves the copywriting, naming and illustration of the freeze fee. The line, “Think you’ve been cold this winter? Try being an orange,” helps us empathize with the fruit’s rough weather. A plump but cold orange is personified with earmuffs and a scarf; the “Brrr” charge is a playful way to relate to what our fruitful friends might feel and say.