Social Media Hot Tub

Or how I became a customer service princess warrior…

…and how you can too (and why you should)

When the phone calls and email don’t work, take it to twitter – a lot. Lather rinse repeat. Fan the company on Facebook and decorate their wall with your discontent. Wait for the phone to ring.

I’ll be getting my Weezer Snuggie in the mail in a couple of days absolutely fuh-ree.  Just what everyone needs in Florida in the summer – a blanket with sleeves.

OK, it’s a silly indulgence. It’s not a matter of life and death. But it was meant as a light-hearted gift for my Weezer-loving husband for Christmas. I received the message from the merchandising company the item was on backorder. I was given a reasonable timeframe for order fulfillment that would get the thing here by Christmas.

When that didn’t happen, I didn’t fret. Our anniversary was coming up. That came and went, then his birthday, then I ran out of occasions – and patience. Of course, during this time I made contact with the company.

I was told I could cancel the order. That pissed me off. So I took it to the streets, as they say.

The person handling their Twitter account feigned shock and horror at my predicament and promised a customer service representative would be in touch. Cue tumbleweeds.

I thought I’d wear them down with tweet frequency. This only seemed to bring down the signal to noise ratio, and the company tweeter didn’t reply anymore.

I don’t like to get nasty. I really don’t. But a consumer has to have a reasonable expectation their money is worth something to the company on the receiving end of it.

Snuggie be damned. This was about principle now.

So I did the thing that finally worked. I became a fan on their Facebook page. That’s right. A fan, although I couldn’t have been less than a fan. This gave me carte blanche to post anything my little heart desired all over their wall.

I said something like yeah, you’re a rock and roll shop. But you can’t expect your clientele to be so stoned they don’t recognized when they’re getting dicked around.

Long story short, a representative called me and explained about some problem with PayPal payments not going through on their backorders. I dunno. Sounds like it’s not really my concern. And it sounds like something they should have aware of months before and contacted me about it promptly.

What I do know is he offered to send my order immediately – and without cost. I couldn’t have been more thrilled than if Weezer had showed up on my front lawn for an afternoon jam. Well, maybe that’s a stretch. Truth was, I felt a mix of vindication and sheepishness. I was raised to be nice, and I shy away from confrontation. Don’t believe me? It’s true. But I also demand a certain respect as a consumer. And you should, too.

Companies: Do not let your relationship management get to the point where your customers try to talk others out of using your services. And with the instant-response mechanisms offered by social media at the hands of anyone competent enough to click a mouse, do not underestimate your customers’ complaint prowess.

Consumers: You’re in charge of the transaction. It’s your hard-earned money. I don’t care if it’s a blanket with sleeves or a Nick Cave doll. If you want it you want it, and you want it like, right now. Use the tools so easily at your disposal.

Just like Mia did:

Just like Dawn did:

Just like all these other people did. Are you paying attention, Sprint? Hmmm? Are you?

Have you brought your customer service issues to the Internet? We want details! In the comments, please.