Best. Picture. Ever. If they tweeted while they waited, research says it's likely they didn't get any service that way either. (image credit: OurSocialTimes.com)
Ever think that something is “so five minutes ago” and then find out it’s not even on most peoples’ radar screen? That happened to me this week when I read an article in The Kansas City Star — “Social media gives customers new way to bite back.” Here’s a sample:
Suddenly with outlets like Twitter, Tumblr, Flickr and YouTube, Hirschman’s single “voice” becomes a thunderous electronic shout, echoed across the Internet by thousands, perhaps millions of other similarly fuming souls. Maybe overnight…In an anemic economy, we’re less likely to take fee hikes and perceived rip-offs quietly. We’re mad as hell, and with social media at our disposal, maybe we don’t have to take it anymore.
Suddenly isn’t exactly the word I would use to describe a trend that first emerged almost five years ago with @ComcastCares. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen “millions” thunderously shout about a customer service issue on any social network. I guess millions have watched the United Breaks Guitars video. Maybe that’s what the writer meant. Well, at least we don’t have to stand for bad customer service anymore since we have social media. It’s so much better now than when we had to just take our ball and go home in the past. There weren’t any outlets like 800 numbers or email addresses to seek resolution for these types of issues. That’s for sure.
Taking the smartass hat off for a second, I think a story like this one can teach us something about how long it actually takes a trend to become mainstream…especially in corporate America.
Companies offering customer service via social media has been around for a while. In fact, calling it new is kind of like calling DVR new. But that doesn’t mean that everybody has it, gets it or has even heard of it. The Comcasts, AT&Ts, Southwests and Dells probably can’t remember the day when they didn’t use Twitter and Facebook to fix customer issues. But this article reminded me that they’re still the exception and not really that close to being the rule.
In fact, one of the bigger retail brands I work with has just begun moving toward integrating social media and customer service in the last six months. I think it’s something a lot of us give lip service and a “no duh” to when we talk social media. But how many of us have actually executed customer service via a brand’s social media account? How many companies have actually trained their customer service teams to engage via social media?
I’m guessing less than 20 percent.
It’s now 10 minutes later and I just found this Market Tools study on ZDnet from October 2011. It says 23 percent of companies surveyed offer customer support via Facebook and 12 percent provide customer service via Twitter.
Question answered. Customer service via social media isn’t mainstream yet. Not even close. Are you surprised?
January 12, 2012
Social media