Message Strategies: Routine Requests; Media Skills: Microblogging [LO-2] , Chapter 7 A growing…
Message Strategies: Routine Requests; Media Skills: Microblogging [LO-2] , Chapter 7 A growing…
Message Strategies: Routine Requests; Media Skills: Microblogging [LO-2] , Chapter 7 A growing number of companies now monitor Twitter to pick up on messages from frustrated customers. Given the public visibility of such complaints, smart companies are eager to jump to the customer’s aid.
Your task: Identify a real customer support situation in your own life in which you need information or some form of resolution from a company. This could be anything from a broken product that you’re having trouble getting repaired to an erroneous charge on a credit card. If you can’t identify a situation in your life, “borrow” a situation from a friend, a student in another class, or a family member that you can try to resolve on Twitter. This is going to be a “live” exercise that consumes a company’s time and resources, so make sure you have a real problem to solve. Also, your messages will be available for all the world to see, so be sure to communicate in a calm, respectful manner, and do not disclose any confi dential or personal information in your tweets. (If your problem requires sharing such information, the company should ask you to switch to direct messaging for privacy.) First, search Twitter to see if the company has an account. If the company is on Twitter, its account should show up in the “People results for . . .” listing. Make sure you choose the most appropriate account; many companies have more than one Twitter account. When you’ve located the right account, follow it from your Twitter account. Next, send a Tweet that includes the company’s account name and describes your problem clearly and as completely as possible within the character limit. Double-check the spelling of the account name, the company name, and any product name you use. Th en be sure to monitor your Twitter account closely to watch for a message from the company, and send a follow-up response in a timely fashion. Work with the customer support person who contacts you to resolve the problem. Along the way, keep a copy of all the messages you send and receive. As your instructor directs, write a summary or prepare a presentation of your experience and your analysis of the eff ectiveness of Twitter as a customer service tool.
