So we’re all required to sign up and experiment with the Twit thing, right? Last week I posted an observation/complaint about Comcast being slow at home (after our class discussion about possible broadband charges.)
‘Comcastcare’ replied to my twitter:
This REALLY interesting, I never thought that companies would be using Twitter as a way to monitor what people are saying about their services and much less use it as a customer service platform. Thoughts?!?!?
posted by Adri
wow, that’s amazing (and just a bit scary). Clearly businesses are dialing into using these social media tools. Not quite a fad methinks.
This is hilarious and amazing. Is it written into someone’s job description to search Twitter for possible customer complaints? I want to know how/when/why they decided to do this. A research problem, perhaps?
At my work I have a daily Google Alert set to search for certain words, and I’m sure some people/companies use similar tools including RSS, etc. This helps us keep on top of our game, and in the case of service providers, can certainly improve their customer service.
So it may not be that folks are going to Twitter, as much as Google Alerts et al are aggregating e-info from various places including Twitter and supplying the links to folks who set up such alerts.
Adri,
I think it’s a pretty savvy idea for companies to consider Twitter, as long as they give a face/personality to the spokeperson and they’re diligent at responding (like Comcast).
Just saw a tweet today from Forrester analyst Jeremiah Owyang listing some companies that use Twitter well:
Comcast = Comcastcares
H&R Block = hrblock
MarketingProfs = MarketingProfs
But they are still creating accounts in these platforms and engaging their customers with social media tools. It’s still pretty interesting, even if they aren’t out there actively searching for the information.
Amazing! Like Hanson, not sure if I am a fan. Just because I want to vent doesn’t always mean I want help.
Companies can very much jump on the bandwagon on facebook too. I really don’t see that much of a difference (aside from aesthetics) between status updates and twittering. Can we say, SATURATION!??
I think they are trying to use the temporary advantage of newly emerging channels.
That’s like Clay’s story about the lost phone. When it comes to mass phenomena, it would be much harder to answer all the complaints for the employees (unless company would be willing to hire people to do that full-time). However, if they do, that might sooner or later draw more people from calling companies directly. Who knows?
Wow – be careful what you Twitter. I wonder about the legal ramifications would have been if Adri had stated that she was bootlegging bandwidth from her neighbor instead? Would Comcast have Tweeted her back, but with a negative response? Or do the “men in black” get dispatched?
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I find it ironic that you get a rapid response from Comcast regarding a Twitter post, but when you create an entire blog on the Flip camera you get no response from Pure Digital.