Let me start by saying that I truly do understand that social media has made customer service even more challenging for companies. It must be excruciating, especially for companies that used to be able to throw hand written complaint letters in the trash. Social media has made the challenges, flaws, and short comings of brands incredibly visible. And it’s really hard to keep up.
It goes without saying that you should have a Twitter account and a Facebook page that you pay attention to frequently. Most brands seem to have embraced this concept. In fact, most have invested more than they actually need to in creative design of these profiles, while not spending enough time using the tools to actually engage with customers. What some brands have completely missed is the behaviors of customers in social media. Meaning, if I approach you in social I want you to help me in social. Of course, if there are compliance issues, answers are really long, or issues really cannot be fixed via Twitter of Facebook, we understand sending someone to the phone or email.
A couple of weeks ago I had decided to try the FitBit and see how it compared to my BodyBugg. I had 5 simple questions that could have been answered in 140 characters. Instead, the company, who took 3 days to respond to my tweet and my email, told me to refer to their user forums. In my mind this was ridiculous. If someone approaches you in social, like it or not, they want you to respond in the same channel. Do not ever send someone down an old school channel when the answer can be provided in the new school channel.
Don’t send me down the wrong channel, dude.