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View Full Version : Do you use Social Media to get customer service help?



Harold Mansfield
05-03-2016, 12:51 PM
I've found that I turn to Twitter more and more when I need assistance from a company. Generally I try what ever form or support email they offer, but if I don't get a response in 24 hours during the week, I go to Twitter and publicly call them out. 9 times out of 10 it works.

Mind you I don't just go on there ranting and raving, and I don't Tweet them from a profile where I do rant, rave, curse and so on.

I use my "business" profile and simply mention them and explain the issue. For most major companies the response is quick. Like minutes. And consequently I've gotten things taken care of quickly. I've even scored free stuff, credits, and so on.

Does anyone else use Social Media for customer service issues?

vangogh
05-03-2016, 01:17 PM
I haven't, but I've thought about it. I usually first look online for an answer to any problem I'm having with a service to see if there's a solution that's already been posted. Most of the time a couple or three Google searches and I've found what I need. More and more often I end up finding information via Twitter. Sometimes Google will point me there and sometimes I'll search Twitter directly.

I haven't taken to asking questions of companies on Twitter, but that's more because I tend not to ask questions and prefer to search for a solution. My guess is I'll still email first, but if I need a quicker response I do think Twitter (or other social site) is going to be the faster way to get a response.

Harold Mansfield
05-03-2016, 01:35 PM
I usually turn to Twitter when it's something wrong on their end that doesn't have a searchable solution and I haven't gotten a response from them, or when the response is less than satisfactory. I use it sparingly or people will stop taking you seriously, but asking in public is very effective.

Some examples of things I've gotten almost immediate responses on include:

Asking a company about updates when no other info online can be found.
Asking about conflicting info that I may have been given.
Letting companies know that my email to them bounced back as undeliverable.
Letting a company know that something on their website wasn't functioning.

I also use it to thank companies for products that I like and use, for giving good service, letting them know that an employee went above and beyond to help. for putting out updates that fixed something, and so on.

KristineS
05-06-2016, 04:24 PM
A lot of our customers do use it to request customer service from our company. Usually it's a question, sometimes it's to place an order. We have a robust Facebook page, and a decent Twitter presence. It's mostly Facebook that gets used for customer service issues.

I love that customers use it. We're usually able to respond to them quickly, most, if not all, of the interactions are positive, and there's a record of the fact that we respond and help that is there for other customers to see.

curtishowe
05-11-2016, 09:28 PM
Personally I've found better service when using social to get help from a business. We recommend encouraging people to connect via Facebook messenger QR codes. It is something we help out clients implement to help with social customer service. Having a separate customer service twitter account helps to keep your main account focused on connecting and promoting. SMRT.social