Twitter and Customer Service

Haven’t posted in a long time!  But this was an interesting experience so too good not to share.

Been having internet access troubles at home.  Access provided by Charter Internet.  Got online at work to chat with their customer service.   They obviously have a few things to learn and train their techs on.  Needless to say it was not a good experience.  I was frustrated enough that I tweeted some of the more choice questions and answers that were exchanged.

Here’s where it gets interesting.  Within minutes of my first tweet I get a direct tweet from their U Matter To Charter department asking me to follow so that we could tweet/discuss the situation.  Explained what was happening.  He tested from where he was located and agreed that there was still a problem.  Escalated the tech request.  We had a tech at our house the next afternoon checking things out.  Got it working temporarily.  System went down again over the weekend.  Tweeted directly to support this time (why not since I had his address).  Got quick escalation.  Tech back to the house.  Spent a good bit of time there yesterday.  The technical problem is still not resolved – he’s supposed to be back this morning.  But they are working on it.

What I want to focus on is the use of social media like twitter to resolve customer support issues.  While it should have never gone that far, I commend Charter for having the foresight to troll Twitter to watch for issues occurring.   They took the initiative to see my tweets and respond.  My tweet was not nice.  But when they responded it was very professional and the response was quick.

Now hopefully my access will be restored today.

Blogging Employees

One of the challenges that organizations face with the growth in social media and the blogosphere is the issue of employees blogging about their work.  I had an interesting discussion with a staff person from an international non-profit.  This person raised the issue from a security perspective.  There is a certain amount of risk in allowing an individual to blog about their work from a country that may have security issues.  The knee jerk reaction was to create a policy that would govern what blogging was allowed, what wasn’t, or would cut it off altogether.  I think after some discussion, I was able to share some insights about the value of training rather than policy and the value to the organization to have staff tell the “real-time” story of what is being accomplished.  Here are some points to consider:

1. The personal voice of a staff member can have huge impact to their immediate circle and beyond.
2. Be cognizant of the potential danger for staff who live in risky areas of the world.  Communicate that danger to those who are headed to those areas of the world.
3. Train your team members to communicate clearly.
4. Consider providing a centralized avenue for blogging with minimal controls.
5. Be clear about what is not acceptable. 
6. Recognize that short of termination, you really can’t stop the blogging. 
7. Remember, that for many, blogging may be cathartic and a way of releasing the stress of the work place.

I hope that helps.