Since Hurricane Beryl left hundreds of thousands without power in Texas, residents in the Houston area have turned to the Whataburger app as an unlikely source for tracking the electricity.
- As CenterPoint Energy’s outage map was offline due to technical issues, Whataburger’s app had inadvertently turned into a makeshift power outage tracker.
- The Whataburger map in their app shows locations and which ones are open, marking them orange, and closed ones that have no power are shown in gray.
- Sick of CenterPoint’s overall lack of information, Texans are overwhelmingly showering praise on the Whataburger app, saying for one it’s helped them find restaurants and businesses open for business.
- Whataburger’s CEO tweeted that the app’s unintended utility did not always reflect the overall status of a store on the map, so users should call ahead.
- Tropical storms push people to the edges of life, and the reliance upon a fast-food chain’s app is indicative of what many see as failures in the response by the utility company.
- Though CenterPoint said most of its customers would have their power restored by Tuesday, for many the outage map was still downed, so they continued to turn to the Whataburger app as a workaround.
Moreover, even the restaurant itself made a quote tweet of it, saying, “Y’all be safe out there!”
Well, it seems like that was the viral moment Whataburger needed to boost its download numbers. Whataburger currently stands at 16th on the food and drink iOS App Store listing. Just three weeks ago, it ranked 40th.
Reliability of the Whataburger App
Reliability of the Whataburger App
The Whataburger app actually proved to be quite reliable for tracking the power outages within the vicinity of Houston, especially in the case of recent power outages resulting from Hurricane Beryl. Here are some major pointers pointing out its reliability:
1. Instant Feedback:
The app indicates places open or closed right inside of it, indicating power availability. That instantaneous feedback was particularly helpful for Houstonians trying to get around in the power outages.
2. The user-friendly interface
This application has a very user-friendly interface making the app accessible to all users regardless of their level of expertise. This usability factor has accelerated its mass adoption as a power outage tracker of sorts.
3. Viral Use
The use of it as a power outage tracker has gone viral; a tweet of the app received over 8.3 million views and more than 1,800 bookmarks. This wide-based adoption further goes on to underscore its reliability and usefulness.
4. CenterPoint alternative
When CenterPoint’s outage map was offline, the Whataburger app became a valuable substitute for monitoring the power outages. This proved very helpful, especially when the people couldn’t use CenterPoint’s map due to some technical glitch.
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Conclusion
Although the Whataburger app was not designed for tracking power outages, real-time updates with an easy interface made this application a reliable substitute in times of crisis. Going viral in its usage and adoption further validate its reliability. In comparison to utility companies’ apps, which have been experiencing technical problems and limited availability of information, its users sought alternative solutions like the Whataburger app.
