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Post by Mark Drespling
Social media has been quite the opportunity for power to shift from large corporations to the public for awhile now. In the news recently is the story of Dave Carroll and his customer service ordeal when his guitar was severely damaged by the airline he was flying on. After several months of frustration, Dave took to the airwaves via you tube and published a music video about the situation. The resulting traffic and “viral” nature of the video caught the attention of the airline and they have taken steps to rectify the situation.
What does this tell us? Basically, companies need to wake up and get involved with all of the customer touch points and tools that are available. This one incident illustrated key problems with their overall customer service process and has exposed the issue to a much greater audience than any individual in their customer service organization could have predicted.
This is only one example of many that demonstrate the power of social media to improve the customer experience.
MSNBC recently published an article on this subject as well. In the article, “6 ways to leverage social media for a better vacation,” Christopher Elliot describes ways to better utilize the tools available to take back control of your travel experience.
Excerpted from the article:
1. Sign up now.
An account on Twitter or Facebook is free. Once you’ve joined, “friend” or follow anyone in your address book that also belongs to these sites, and then start talking. Remember, it’s a numbers game. A travel company is likelier to pay attention to someone with 10,000 followers than a lone wolf with just a handful of contacts. So don’t be shy.2. Get engaged.
Becoming a “friend” to a socially active travel company, which means following their Twitter feed or becoming a “fan” of their Facebook page, is the next step. Often, they’ll begin paying attention to what you’re doing. So when you have something important to say about customer service, these airlines, car rental companies and hotels will be far likelier to listen to you than if you were a random customer.3. Travel with a company that understands.
“When it comes to a holistic social media strategy, I feel many airlines are either lost, or still experimenting,” says Shashank Nigam, the chief executive of the aviation branding company SimpliFlying. “Or at least that’s how it seems to the outsider.” Pick a travel company at the vanguard of these changes, and you’re likelier to be heard. Nigam says among the airlines, JetBlue, Southwest and Alaska Airlines, have reached that level. Many other travel brands, including Marriott, Starwood and Hertz also have strong social media presences.4. Keep it positive.
For now, at least, companies are behaving more like people on these social networking sites. In other words, a kind word can really take you a long way. It did for Paul Marr, who works for an advertising agency in Vancouver and recently found $120 in unexpected fees on his Allegiant Air ticket. He tried contacting the carrier through normal channels — to no avail — so he sent a friendly message to its Twitter account. Within minutes, his problem was fixed. “Need an airline that offers great deals and listens on Twitter?” he asked his followers. “@allegiantair called me within 30 mins of my last post. Grt cstmr service!”5. Be patient.
Travel companies are still finding their way in this new world. Many corporations that are involved in social media aren’t really sure how they’ll use it in the future, only that it is likely to be useful. For example, the iconic Westin Bonaventure in Los Angeles chats with customers and anyone else who happens to be on Twitter. Its social-media claim to fame, at least in the customer service department, is helping a guest who tweeted that he had a moth in his room. “He thanked us via Twitter, and also told us that the iron in his room was broken,” says hotel spokeswoman Melanie Boyer. “So we sent up a new one.” Not exactly a stop-the-presses success story until you consider the Bonaventure is one of only a few Los Angeles hotel that bothers to listen to the twittersphere.6. Look to the next thing.
Google Wave, for example, is a new communication platform where text, photos and other information can be exchanged in real time. It’s expected to debut later this year, and when it does, be there along with the other early adopters. It’s only a matter of time before others join in, including some forward-looking travel companies. You’ll have their ear — at least until everyone else arrives.
Ultimately, it is up to each of us to take action when needed. It is also critically important for companies to embrace social media and take customer service to a new level.