Customer Service Is Getting Social

When some people hear "customer service," I'm sure they think of yelling and screaming customers on the other side of the phone. Well, shift that thought process and start thinking about customer service via social media. People are flocking to Facebook, Twitter and other sites to complain about anything and everything. Why? Because they feel like they have a voice and will be heard and get their way.

On page 49 of "Social Customer Service," Carolyn Blunt and Martin Hill-Wilson stated, “Interact with your customers honestly and non-defensively. If you argue then it gets worse.” Restaurant chain Applebee’s provides us with a perfect example why you shouldn’t argue with customers, especially via social media.

Here’s a short synopsis of what happened:

1.     A customer left a note on a receipt saying, “I give God 10% why do you get 18" and crossed out the automatic 18 percent tax for groups larger than eight.

2.     A co-worker of the waitress took a photo (below) and submitted it to Reddit.

3.     The worker was fired and Applebee’s issued an apology via Facebook.

4.     The restaurant chain defended their stand with a post garnering over 10,000 comments, most of which were negative.

5.     Applebee’s continued to comment using the same post.

6.     They were accused of blocking users and deleting negative comments.

OK, where was the social media director when all of this happened? Step-by-step, let’s analyze why these actions were bad.

1. The customer should not have left the comment, but they did leave the 18 percent tip in cash on the table.
2. By uploading the picture to Reddit, the employee violated Applebee’s customer privacy policy. So we have a legal case on our hands.
3.  Applebee’s did the right thing by firing the customer and issuing the apology.
4. Hold up: this is where things get messy. Their response created negative buzz about the incident.
5. To begin, customers do not want to think they’re talking to a robot. Put some emotion and personality into posts! Obviously Applebee’s didn’t do this considering they were using the same comment for every response. Come on people, have some common sense.
6. Throughout my public relations career here at Northern, I’ve been taught to not randomly delete posts. Yes, it’s OK to delete posts, as long as you immediately post again stating why it was originally deleted. Secondly, blocking users will only make them more infuriated and they’ll utilize other forms of communication to bash you and/or the company more.

 

“If you deal with it [a crisis] properly online your critics will become your advocates: people value honesty, and when you engage with them they are more likely to stand up and defend your company,” (BOOK, p. 49). Do you think Applebee’s followed this bit of advice in this situation? I didn't think so either.

Moral of this blog post: don’t fight with customers, be genuine and please don’t follow Applebee’s example of crisis management. Check out this link for more details about the Applebee’s case and other case studies! 

Until next time, stay classy fellow bloggers.

Candace