Companies are jumping on the social media bandwagon faster than most of us change our socks. Everyday a company opens a Twitter account, creates a Facebook page and assigns some social media evangelist the job of Facebooking (is that a word?) and Tweeting the mantra of their company brand.
But whoa there Mr. Big Company…let me suggest that before you begin, you take a look at the big picture and consider a little bit of employee training. Now, your reply might be that Twitter and Facebook aren’t difficult to maneuver (and that would be correct). So why the training? I’m not talking about training for the person who’s in charge of Twittering (although it would be a smart move to give your CTO – Chief Twitter Officer – a lesson in promoting your brand.) I’m talking about customer service training.
Case in point. Sears has rolled out a new website called MySears Community. MySears.com allows me to write reviews, participate in discussions, and comment on blogs. Now, let me tell you about my most recent experience at Sears:
I recently purchased a vacuum cleaner hose. The sales clerk told me that the hose was the correct one for the model number I gave her. It wasn’t. So I went to return it. On the day I went to the store, there were 6 employees working the department (all talking to each other.) Eventually, someone came over to assist me.
I explained the situation and the customer service rep said that I couldn’t return the hose in the store. She also said that I couldn’t order the right hose in the store, saying I would need to call an 800 number to find out how to return the item and order a new one. I asked her to call (while I was in the store) and she begrudgingly did so. While she was on hold, I listened the rep complain about being on hold, not being able to speak with a person, and not being happy about coming into work on a weekend. Once the rep was finally able to speak with a human being, she was told that she would have to wait 90 minutes for an answer because the computers were down. (Side note: Is this how Sears employees treat each other? Hmmm…)
At that point, I asked to speak to a manager. Another rep told me where the manager’s office was located. When I asked if the manager could come speak to me, he replied that the manager “sits on her ass all day” and it might be better for me to go to her office. (No folks, I’m not joking.)
So I went to the manager’s office. The manager wasn’t there. But I did tell my story to the assistant manager. Who then grabbed three employees and made me tell my story again (obviously someone will be getting into trouble and needed a few witnesses.)
At the end of my conversation, I got a refund for the vacuum cleaner hose and they gave me directions on how to order the correct part. I’m not sure why that couldn’t have happened 45 minutes earlier at the department level.
But the moral of this story is not about my vacuum cleaner hose. It’s about the fact that the last thing Sears wants is for me to share my experience on the MySears site. Companies need to remember that, if you’re going to create a platform for customer comments…be prepared for what those customer comments might be. More importantly, prepare (train) your staff on how to correctly interact with customers to avoid getting social media egg all over your face.
Being transparent is about more than having a Facebook or Twitter account and tossing up a community website. The benefit of transparency is to show off what a great company you are. It’s about proper engagement at every level in the organization. But, if you don’t have that great company to begin with, transparency will show the world why they shouldn’t do business with you.
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Kelly Mitton says
Sharlyn,
I couldn’ agree with you more. Everyone is jumping on the band wagon but if they aren’t prepared to deal with the feedback, comments, concerns and handle them improperly (in an online forum or as you experienced) it will leave the campaign cold. So important to remember-get your ducks in a row before you jump into the water!
Stephanie A. Lloyd says
Sharlyn,
Excellent article!
Communication via social media allows consumers to shine a spotlight on what companies do well as well as what they do poorly.
We each now have a voice with potentially very far reach and are able to truly hold businesses accountable and keep them in check…and to get the service and treatment we should have been receiving all along.
Stephanie
Kris Rzepkowski says
Sharlyn, I agree with you wholeheartedly. In fact you’ll see my similar warning for marketers of Sears when my wife and I had an AWFUL Sears experience.
http://www.krisrzepkowski.com/blog/work/teaching-the-rank-and-file-social-media-marketer.html
I didn’t know Sears went down this road, but ya know…this is likely a good thing if they handle it well. Customer service was the #1 thing I hated about Circuit City and they thankfully went under.
So, I’m off to check out Sears community and see if they’ve trained their staff 🙂
Puf says
Great post. I do have a question as it relates to company’s opening up forums for customers. I’ve always heard from our customer service people, a person that has a good experience will tell two other people, and one who has had a bad experience will tell eleven. Is this true on the online forums as well?
hr bartender says
Great question Puf – and I think we can draw on our own experiences for the answer. Many times we’re moved to vent about sub-standard experiences to anyone who will lend an ear (either physically or virtually). Yet, how often does (1) someone truly exceed our expectations and (2) that experience drive us to comment on it? I think rarely for both. The good thing about social media is it provides a medium for relating positive comments – as long as the customer experience warrants them. Thanks to all for your input!
Wally Bock says
Great post. Calling it a community doesn’t make it one. Adding the words “customer service” to the mission statement doesn’t make it happen. And, no matter what some marketing gurus seem to think, letting me vent about your crappy service doesn’t make me happy, solve the problem, or persuade me to return.
Wally Bock says
There have been several studies of the disparity between talking about great service and talking about awful service. They all show that those who’ve had an awful experience are more likely to tell others than ones who’ve had good experiences. The numbers vary.
What’s more important, I think is that bad experiences are generators of negative emotions which imprint more readily and more deeply than positive ones. The implication is that you’re more likely to tell someone about a bad experience AND you’re more likely to remember it.
ShellyKramer says
Sharlyn,
Beautiful. That’s it. Enough said.
Beautiful (couldn’t resist, said it again).
Shelly
http://twitter.com/shellykramer
Marie Adams says
Social media has become an amazing tool to spread horror stories about the brands we know and love (and hate). I agree, organizations that start an online community need to prepare themselves for the responsibility that comes along with it. If they fail to address customers’ issues online, like they may have done in their stores, they may have an even bigger mess to clean up.
Kelly Magowan says
A great post and something that all businesses really need to be addressing if they want to be operating in the not too distant future! Quality, service and transparency are vital ingredients for business success.
HR and Recruitment professionals are starting to understand this thanks to great sites like Glass Door. In a Six Figures Blog Post ‘Would they get on your bus if you offered them a ride?’ http://blog.sixfigures.com.au/2008/11/13/would-they-get-on-your-bus-if-you-offered-them-a-ride/ I used the analogy of a bus depot to illustrate the need for customer service and transparency by HR.
It is great that businesses are embracing social media however there are no shortcuts.
Ann Evanston says
This made me think of the book “A Complaint is a Gift” by Janelle Barlow as well as Guy Kawaski. Guy believes that even a negative can be a positive for marketing your brand! I think the key is to not be afraid when the negative presents itself online and work to fix it!
Ann Evanston
The Warrior is Within You
http://Warrior-Preneur.com
Wally Bock says
From the personal experience of several years, I will tell you that anything by Janelle Barlow is good. She does tremendous work.