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The case of Burger King’s mysterious blank-order emailsThe case of Burger King’s mysterious blank-order emails

Recipients remain baffled by the brand’s early morning missives

Ron Ruggless, Senior Editor

August 12, 2022

2 Min Read
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Burger King Corp. customers were greeted this week with order receipt emails that were blank and mysterious.

The burger division of Toronto-based Restaurants Brands international Inc. fired up hundreds of Twitter users with the email message early on Aug. 8 and a receipt that said: "Thank you for ordering from Burger King! Your order will be ready to be picked up at Burger King located at." The order information was blank.

“I just got a completely blank Burger Bing receipt in my email,” said one Twitter user. “It is 12:30 in the morning, and I did not order Burger King. I do not think I have EVER ordered burger King. This is so menacing.”

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Burger King reached out to some users on Thursday, acknowledging the emails and saying: “We are aware of the issue and are investigating internally.”

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The Burger King communications team has not responded to questions, but a company representative told The Verge website that "an internal processing error" was responsible for the mass email. The rep didn't provide any other details.

It does not seem that any email recipients were charged or had any of their information compromised.

Email marketers could empathize.

“We've totally been there, @BurgerKing,” wrote Twitter user Humans of Email. “You haven't earned your stripes as an email marketer until you've had a Whopper of a campaign blunder! Now you're one of us! Welcome to the club.”

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At the end of the second quarter on June 30, Burger King had 19,311 restaurants systemwide. Parent RBI also owns the Tim Hortons, Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen and Firehouse Subs brands.

Contact Ron Ruggless at [email protected]

Follow him on Twitter: @RonRuggless

Read more about:

Burger King Corp.

About the Author

Ron Ruggless

Senior Editor, Nation’s Restaurant News / Restaurant Hospitality

Ron Ruggless serves as a senior editor for Informa Connect’s Nation’s Restaurant News (NRN.com) and Restaurant Hospitality (Restaurant-Hospitality.com) online and print platforms. He joined NRN in 1992 after working 10 years in various roles at the Dallas Times Herald newspaper, including restaurant critic, assistant business editor, food editor and lifestyle editor. He also edited several printings of the Zagat Dining Guide for Dallas-Fort Worth, and his articles and photographs have appeared in Food & Wine, Food Network and Self magazines. 

Ron Ruggless’ areas of expertise include foodservice mergers, acquisitions, operations, supply chain, research and development and marketing. 

Ron Ruggless is a frequent moderator and panelist at industry events ranging from the Multi-Unit Foodservice Operators (MUFSO) conference to RestaurantSpaces, the Council of Hospitality and Restaurant Trainers, the National Restaurant Association’s Marketing Executives Group, local restaurant associations and the Horeca Professional Expo in Madrid, Spain.

Ron Ruggless’ experience:

Regional and Senior Editor, Informa Connect’s Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality (1992 to present)

Features Editor – Dallas Times Herald (1989-1991)

Restaurant Critic and Food Editor – Dallas Times Herald (1987-1988)

Editing Roles – Dallas Times Herald (1982-1987)

Editing Roles – Charlotte (N.C.) Observer (1980-1982)

Editing Roles – Omaha (Neb.) World-Herald (1978-1980)

Email: [email protected]

Social media:

Twitter@RonRuggless

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ronruggless

Instagram: @RonRuggless

TikTok: @RonRuggless

 

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