Have you ever experienced difficulty communicating with a
business?
I have experienced some difficulty communicating with a company
who was a life insurance company and they did not answer their phone and no one
responded via email. It was very frustrating since I was paying them an
automatic payment each month. I ended up having contact a third party and I canceled
the account all together.
Does social media make it easier to get noticed or get your
problem solved?
Social media can make it easier to get noticed and can solve
a problem, so both can happen at the same time. Social media does a great job of
letting you get noticed by anyone whom you let into your social media world and
the people you engage with. Good businesses keep in touch with their customers
via social media and respond to the problems their audiences have and try to
correct and appease their customers.
Have you ever had a positive experience communicating with a
business through social media?
I recently had a positive experience on social media, I felt
was a bit disingenuous, but positive still. I had bought a pair of workout pants
from this online store and they wouldn’t exchange the pants, even though their
size chart was incorrect. I fought with them over this for 2 weeks and they wouldn’t
budge. So, one day, there I am scrolling through my Instagram one lonely,
single, pathetic night, just me and my wine and I come across their stupid ad
and all these comments about how great they are under it. So, I go on there and
I comment “I wouldn’t reorder, size chart is incorrect, and they refuse to exchange”.
Next thing you know, they reply to the comment saying they will exchange the
pants and took care of the issue with no further questions. Thank my wine.
If it was your own business on social media, how would you
respond to positive or negative comments?
With my business and other social media I have cared for on behalf of my clients, I respond with “the customer is always right” motto. “You’re wrong,
nope your right” and “You’re right, yup you are right”. If there is a negative comment, I thank them
for their feedback and I try to make it better. We messed up your order, here’s
a free order, we didn’t call you back, here’s 10 more calls and last, but not
least, we were rude, let me tell you how amazing you are. If the feedback is positive, I thank them and
try to squeeze a review out of them.
Describe what made your experience negative or positive.
What makes my experience negative is not being heard and
what makes my experience positive is being heard and validated. Just like being
in a relationship, social media seems to be no different.
I'm glad you got your pants exchanged! How hypocritical of them to be unhelpful in private but accommodating in public! That is a perfect example of social media and accountability.
ReplyDeleteHi Andrea, the example with the pants is great. I am like you and always try to resolve issues offline first. It sounds like you may have been doing business with a smaller, newer company that does not have more traditional channels of customer service well managed and established. I think businesses need to have both social media, but still traditional lines of communication available.
ReplyDeleteI've been in the same positions! Size charts and online shopping can be a nightmare and I've also made a purchase and was refused a refund or exchange. I'll take into consideration writing a review to be heard out on the issue. I agree with you when you mentioned that social media for businesses is like a relationship and all it takes is healthy communication.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the customer is always right motto, and it's always in the best interest of the company to resolve an issue and avoid negative publicity.
ReplyDeleteThats awesome they made the exchange, makes me feel like I should try it out sometime. Good companies will do good things it seems like!
ReplyDeleteI agree that good companies keep in contact with their customers on social media. Also, I like to see that you follow "the customer is always right motto", and that you were able to get your work out pants exchanged!
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