When you need customer service, some big brands can be difficult to simply ring up anymore. If they even have a phone number that you can find, you now must successfully navigate a labyrinth of automated answers to “get to the right department”. They might even charge you for the pleasure of your call (reference a certain budget Irish airline…). And then you may discover that your query cannot be dealt with on this phone line, and you must now go to the website and fill out lengthy and restrictive online forms that will do little more than promote an auto, do-not-reply email to ensure you that your issue is being dealt with (I am still referencing that notorious airline). Poor customer service leaves all of us feeling frustrated and helpless (and the ‘compliment/complaint’ phone line is a paid service as well!). So where does the modern consumer turn?
Answer: Twitter.
It is an amazing contrast after spending ages trying to get a human from the customer service department on the phone, when one tweet can generally receive a response within minutes. Even the worst brands in customer service know better than to have defamatory tweets go unanswered, and social media teams are on the ball to help you.
Top 5 Do’s of Customer Service on Twitter:
- Do always monitor your accounts and have someone available to respond. Even on evenings and weekends, social media never sleeps!
- Do follow complaining customers and ask for a DM of the issue. They will appreciate you taking the matter seriously.
- Do sign off all tweets and DMs with initials, so both the customer and your social media team know who is dealing with the issue. Humanise your interactions.
- Social media complaints are public, so do apologise and show that you care. Be gracious, even with angry customers.
- Do remember to thank customers for getting in touch. Worse than a complaining customer is one that just walks away!
Social media complaints tend to scare brands, because they are public for the world to see. But if you ignore them, your poor customer service will be all that your audience notices. And not to mention – your competitors are probably there too!
Jennifer Tough
