Social Media can be scary. I know we have had conversations with clients that frown on this new communication idea. Of our clients and prospective clients that do not use social media, the number one fear is that use of Social Media will provide customers with a complaint platform to voice and discuss problems with potential customers, which could drive away business.
I’m sure you know that if a tree falls in the woods, and you aren’t around to hear it, it makes a sound, right?
Likewise, if customers complain, and you don’t hear it, they are still complaining.
So listen for the complaints. Set up a tool to watch for any possible customer issues, and be aware of what is being said about you. Your first step is to publicly address any complaint. Use the customer’s name, and tell him or her that you want to help. Offer an opportunity to speak directly to this person. Don’t simply give a phone number to call. The customer has chosen to talk about this in an alternative manner, otherwise the complaint wouldn’t be on Twitter in the first place! A good example of a possible initial response to a complaint would be:
@angrycustomer, We are sorry for your problem, and we want to fix it. Can you DM me your email, so we can make it right?
The response is to the point, states you are sorry for the mistake, and that you want to fix the problem. What else can you say? Customers cannot DM (Direct Message) you unless you follow them, and unless they are following you. You always want to follow someone who is complaining about you. You want an email address, and any other contact information that you can get, but you should attempt to open the channel in a non public forum.
Understand – You are planning on fixing the problem, and you want the world to know that you are trying to fix the problem. You do not need the world to see every step you take to fix the issue. Get out of the public eye while you are fixing the problem. After the matter is resolved, you can go back to the public domain, and ask the customer if he or she is happy with the resolution, but do not complete the entire repair out in public, for everyone to watch.
Once the customer has contacted you in a private manner, you need to fix this problem as quickly as possible. Once again, the best way to handle this is to imagine the customer is in your establishment, not on the internet. How would you address this if it was happening in person?
Once the situation is resolved, try and engage the customer one last time privately. Since you handled the problem, gauge the customer’s temperature in the resolution, before going back to the public forum. If the customer seems completely happy, ask something like, “Are you now 100% satisfied?” If the customer is still a little warm under the collar, maybe, “I’m glad we could come to an arrangement. Thank you for your business!” would work better.
