More important than feedback is paying attention to customers reactions and experiences in realtime.

@Joe,  no doubt paying attention to customer reactions and experience is very important but that shouln't stop companies from taking the feedback's seriously. Sometimes customer may not like to give feedback during real-time and he might want to reserve his feedback till the end.

A business has a social media presence but fails to respond using it.

@syedzunair, this clearly shows that companies are taking social media seriously. They are just having social media interface just because they want to show their social media presence. Companies should start taking the feedback/data collected through social media seriously.

The good part of the story is that they are all aware of the importance of setting a feedback platform for customers to leave comments

@hounhosp, that is the positive way of looking at it. But in the end what matters is if the feedback platform helped the end customers or not. So its very important for the companies to consider this feedback/data seriously and act on it.

If you can't response to submissions sent on the web, then don't put forms.

@stotehco, I completely agree with you. If companies don't know how to handle the data/feedback collected online then its better they should stop having feedback form itself. Its better not implement the system instead of implementing faulty system.

It's still the old problem, companies neglecting customer feedback and delays in the process. The internet age, which would seem to simplify the process doesn't always work as promised.

What would you have done, though, Joe if the manager hadn't stopped by your table?

More important than feedback is paying attention to customers reactions and experiences in realtime.

I detailed such an experience with a steakhouse here.  (Rather than retype the same story, I thought I'd provide the link.)

If a customer is in the position of having to provide feedback, it may be too late.

@Alison: 

That is the dilemma, isn't it? A business has a social media presence but fails to respond using it. It is like having a car with an engine breakdown. 

The world today is very active on social networks and demand prompt responses. If a business cannot cope up with the pace of the social networks I suggest that they might not go down that road altogether. 

@nasimson: 

I would go with your explanation. It is a matter of concern and prioritizing your customers views. If they are unresponsive to case submissions they might as well be unresponsive on other mediums. 

That's one of the dangers of having some kind of social media presence but not implementing processes -- or not following them -- when customers actually use Twitter or Facebook to provide feedback. Customers may question whether you care for them at all, and be less inclined to deal with you for anything. If either restaurant had just a phone number and mailing address, perhaps David wouldn't have done anything; or if he had, he may not have expected the immediate response that social media customer service implies.