How a Couple Managed the Return of Rubio’s Portobello Poblano Grilled Tacos

Are you a fan of Rubio’s Portobello Poblano Grilled Gourmet Tacos? For a vast majority of us, we may not even know this limited-time menu item exists, but for a couple that is unusually passionate about their good eats, they decided to not let the sudden dissappearance of their favorite menu item go unheard.

But what is one to do in such a situation? Inquire about the tacos with a manager? Fire off an e-mail to corporate? How many times have customers tried this only to have their inquiries fall on deaf ears? Well, this is a story with a slightly happier ending:

Could these tacos really be that coveted? Corn tortillas topped with toasted cheese, habanero citrus salsa, grilled Portobello mushrooms and Poblano peppers, cilantro/onion, cotija cheese, creamy chipotle picante sauce and sliced avocado. Seems worthy of a search party, don’t you think?

Husband of one of our favorite foodie contributors to FOODBEAST, Dorothy of ShockinglyDelicious, explains her husband’s disappointment at the departure of his favorite menu item. This emotional trip was quickly followed by an inquiry via the Rubio’s website contact form to express his sentiments about the missiong tacos.

A short time later, he was gifted a response from not only a district manager, but a follow up response from the chain’s Chief Operating Officer, Marc Simon:

—–Original Message—–

From: Tina Long [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Wednesday, February 16, 2011 1:59 PM
To: (my darling husband)
Subject: Rubio’s Fresh Mexican Grill – Contact ID:2498063

Dear Valued Guest,

I read with interest your comments regarding our decision to remove the Portobello Poblano Grilled Gourmet Taco from our menu. Upon reflection and due in no small part to your passionate plea, we have decided to return this option to our menu on March 9, 2011.

We appreciate that you took the time to share your feedback with us as it helps to ensure we do the right thing for our guests. Your passion for our brand is what makes you one of our most important guests. I would like to send you a token of my appreciation for your loyalty to Rubio’s Fresh Mexican Grill. Please reply back with your mailing address.

We look forward to serving you again soon.

All the best!

Tina Long on behalf of,
Marc Simon
Chief Operating Officer
Rubio’s Restaurants, Inc.

—–Original Message—–

Congratulations to Dorothy and her husband on a successful, classy campaign to fight for a menu item they feel so passionately about. The Rubio’s Fresh Mexican Grill chain operates over 180 locations across multiple states, so hearing from the COO was a bit of an uplifting note in the midst of an unfortunate consumer consensus that company “feedback forms” normally don’t have any actual utility. I guess it’s time for us to think again.