Publicly Shaming Companies into Better Customer Service

There have been quite a few stories about how companies are using Twitter as a customer service channel to improve how they connect with consumers. For the most part, I think the consensus is that it’s a good thing that companies are more responsive. But I wouldn’t consider that a win for the company. I think all it has done is teach consumers to threaten companies into giving them better customer service and it has turned customer service into PR function.

If the companies truly cared about customer service, they would invest in other touchpoints – hotline, website, better instruction manuals, in person etc. – because that’s where you can nip the problem in the bud.

Customer service over Twitter is a reaction to all the complaints people are logging on the network and an attempt at damage control. And in a sense, it’s a little self-serving as well. Now a company is resolving customer service problems in front 100 people instead of waiting for that person to tell 5 people about it.

By the numbers, it works. But it misses the whole idea of good customer service which is to preempt complaints by being attentive. These stories about how some company heroically sent a repairman to a complaining customer are indeed very sexy stories of triumph. But is it a triumph if you have thousands of those complaints a day with your handle on it?