Customer Service problems can be daunting for any company. But the last thing you want to do is pretend that they don't exist or will never exist. The best thing to do is meet them head on, resolve issues, make the customer as happy as possible, and move on. The last thing you want to even consider is ignoring an unhappy customer or client.
Customer Service and Twitter.com were made for each other. The immediacy of Twitter, coupled with the accessibility of the customer-service "fixer" creates a terrific tool for staying in close and concerned contact with customers. And they feel the love. Below are a few tips to make this successful:
-Let your customers know about your presence on Twitter, at least to resolve issues. Post your Twitter "handle" throughout your own website. Send an a informative email to your customers letting them know that you will be available on Twitter if they need help, blog about it in company blogs. Make the Twitter handle that will be used for customer service visible and easily found throughout your online presence.
-Be proactive. Go looking for problems or mentions. This is not the time to be shy or keep your head in the sand! Search out your company name frequently. Create a search for your company name, brand name, product names in Tweetdeck, Hootsuite or Seesmec and save these searches. That way you will always be aware when anyone in the Twittersphere is talking about you (positively or negatively) or has problems. Tweetbeep and Monniter are two applications that will alert you when your company is mentioned.
-Take the right tone. Gather information on the problem, never point fingers, don't be defensive. Be authentic in your attempts to solve the customer's problem. Be sure the end result is positive