Irish Marketing Journal - Strong Language

Power to the e-people

By admin ⋅ March 12, 2009 ⋅  Email This Post ⋅  Print This Post ⋅ Post a comment

Thanks to social media, blogs and video sites, the power has returned to the people. If someone discovers bad service or a dodgy practice by a brand or company they can send their findings around the globe in an instant. No wonder brands are anxious.

Whinging and whining 2.0

Complaints sure aren’t what they used to be. Whining about a service or product was an almost religious experience. We knew what to expect – call, hold, whinge, hold, end – and were comforted by the routine.
Our criticisms were also heard in the dark, anonymous confessional of help line phone calls and emails. It was entirely predictable: fumble to the phone or computer while full of rage and humiliation. Then stay on hold (or in the pew/ queue) until you can bitch to a so-bored-they-are-drooling customer service representative.

Next, listen for a response to your words or emotions. Nothing. The blank wall of silence is a metal grate between you and the “brand priest”. You feel terrible. Is anyone listening?

Slowly, you hear rustlings of human activity down the phone: they twiddle their pens, lean back, move papers around and shoot rubber bands at the wall. You imagine their eyelids are permanently shuttered over eyeballs tattooed by the flickering computer screen. The verdict is eventually revealed and you obediently do your penance: post or photocopy them something or feel guilty for losing your temper.

Customer service line worship is over, people. That darned social media lark has gotten in the way! Thanks to blogs, citizen journalists, Twitter, Facebook and Linked In we’re all doomed to actually talking to real people when we complain. It’s quite shocking really.

A crime against bloody cooking

Complaints are now made publicly on the Internet – for all to see – and feature photos, video and audio. Living, breathing people produce these missives to state their case for complaint.

Virgin Atlantic is one high profile victim of this new complaint system. In December, Oliver Beale took a flight from Mumbai to Heathrow on Virgin Atlantic. The result is probably one of the funniest complaint letters ever written.

Poor Mr. Beale was disgusted by the strangely coloured, textured goo that was served as food during his flight. He called it a “crime against bloody cooking,” took photos of each meal and sent a letter to the company.

Here is an excerpt: “Dear Mr Branson, I love the Virgin brand, I really do which is why I continue to use it despite a series of unfortunate incidents over the last few years. This latest incident takes the biscuit…Let’s peel back the tin-foil on the main dish and see what’s on offer

I’ll try and explain how this felt. Imagine being a twelve-year-old boy Richard. Now imagine it’s Christmas morning and you’re sat there with your final present to open. It’s a big one, and you know what it is. It’s that Goodman’s stereo you picked out the catalogue and wrote to Santa about.

Only you open the present and it’s not in there. It’s your hamster Richard. It’s your hamster in the box and it’s not breathing. That’s how I felt when I peeled back the foil and saw this. [Photo of another gelatinous mess here.]

… As I said at the start I love your brand, I really do. It’s just a shame such a simple thing could bring it crashing to it’s knees and begging for sustenance.” (For a laugh read the full letter.

Did it work? Well, Richard Branson personally called Beale to say thanks and invited him to come visit and choose the company’s in-flight catering meals.

Genuine consumers got genuine answers
Consumers are claiming back their voice. If you don’t like a service don’t bother with customer care – simply post your experience on YouTube. A videographer recently filmed rats in Taco Bell, an Amercian fast-food restaurant chain, and publicly shamed the entire franchise for the sins of one outlet. The action sent a powerful brand message.

After ignoring, and abusing, customer for years brands now want to talk to us directly. Last month, Bord Gais Energy gave the Irish blogging community some respect. The energy supplier announced their new consumer electricity offering to bloggers before the press. They asked them for opinions and answered questions. According to top Irish blogger Damien Mulley: “Genuine consumers got genuine answers in a nice relaxed atmosphere.”

The smoothie company Innocent Drinks has a Twitter account where they casually “fly” new ideas and answer complaints – using a human voice. Who needs a customer service survey when you have direct access to customers through social media?

Some companies are taking a different approach. Maybe they are visionaries? Ryanair and Eircom don’t have customer complaint email addresses on their websites. This April, United Airlines plans to ditch a customer complaints phone line. They must be preparing for the social media complaint revolution, or maybe not.

Margaret E. Ward is an Irish Times business columnist and managing director of Clear Ink, the Clear English specialists. margaret@clearink.ie

Tags: blogs, Irish Marketing Journal - Strong Language, Marketing, social media