Week 3A: Business and Communication


Probably the most frustrating communication difficulty I've had with businesses is either not being able to speak with someone who can help me or having my requests for help ignored. For example, I ordered an item online from a store I had never ordered from because the item was on sale. The item never came and the customer service number always went straight to voicemail and my numerous emails went unanswered. By the time the item finally shipped three months later, I had already purchased the item somewhere else and I had moved and it went to the wrong address.

I think social media definitely makes is easier to get noticed as a customer and get problems solved. If the company I mentioned above had a social media platform where I could post my ever-increasing frustration, I think someone from the company would have noticed and reached out to me. I think that is fantastic! It makes businesses more accountable to their customers. It makes their ethics and policies transparent. They don't want negative comments. It makes them look bad and they know customers will go elsewhere if they get a bad reputation.

Personally I have not used social media to communicate with a business, but I enjoy reading other's communication with that business because it says a lot about the company. When I follow a business I like on social media it increases my loyalty and makes it more personal for me, especially if they are quick to respond and have an interesting presence.

If it was my own business on social media, I would be very careful how I responded, especially to negative comments. I would try to learn from the negatives and thank customers for their input and ask them what I could do to make it right or improve in the future. For the positive comments I would  make sure to convey gratitude and let them know I appreciate their business.

Comments

  1. Cassandra QuinnSeptember 10, 2018 at 6:03 PM

    Hey there, it's me again!
    I agree with all of the statements that you wrote about above. I actually wrote about a very similar experience, and wish I would've reached out via social media for a quicker response from their customer service. I'm witnessing larger companies tackle customer service issues through social media platforms, especially on Twitter.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Kathryn OrcinoSeptember 10, 2018 at 9:56 PM

    Hello, Eva. I agree that many companies do not want to be reprimanded on social media for not meeting customers' expectations, so they will typically be more likely to respond kindly to customers' comments and critiques. I also think that your approach to responding to customer comments on social media is quite wise. After all, if business owners openly show resentment toward customers on Facebook, Twitter, or wherever, their comments are likely to follow them for years to come and potentially hurt their reputations.

    ReplyDelete

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