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The Breakdown
The business story behind the headline.
Our editors take the business stories everyone is talking about and break down what is underneath: the numbers, the decision, and what it means for a company like yours.
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Butterball’s Turkey Hotline Answers 100,000 Questions a Year and Sells Nothing. That’s the Point.
The quick take
Read the breakdown- Butterball's Turkey Talk-Line opened for its 45th season on November 2. More than 50 experts will answer turkey questions by phone, text, chat and social media through December 24.
- It started in 1981 with six home economists and about 11,000 questions. Now it handles more than 100,000 a season, and more than 10,000 on Thanksgiving Day alone.
- Why it matters now: It might be the best-run customer service play in America, and it sells almost nothing directly. That's the point.
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