Knowing Peter wrote the book that describes this situation[1] and then denying that it's happening makes me seriously question whether this is Morton's own doing (great PR) or something that was discussed beforehand. Regardless, this is clearly just PR and in no way reflects customer service. Not to say Morton's doesn't have great customer service--it appears they do based on their high satisfaction rates--but the event was not causal.
Peter Shankman might direct message you on Twitter (and not follow you so you can't direct message him back) and say he expects more from you.
Like he did to me an hour ago.
Peter Shankman: "would have expected more logic from you on your hackernews comment... Morton's can put a dollar amount on this, yes. It's business."
Peter Shankman: "Read the comments on their website. They do this all the time for non-famous people. As does KLM. And Virgin. It's good biz."
Peter Shankman: "An entrepreneur should know that. :)"