I hate Banks, Queues and Call Centres. I choose to avoid them whenever i can. To me it is a massive waste of time. But this post is not about my pet hate for all things bureaucratic. This is a real life example of a Twitter conversation i had that made a terrible interaction with a call centre at a bank into something worth writing about.
The details of my frustration is not needed. Rest assured, i spent way more time than needed on the phone, writing emails and trying to log into my online banking profile with FNB. I followed all the prescribed steps and exhausted all available options (except going to the branch. i hate going to the branch) So after a call centre adventure where i got transferred and transferred just to start right at the beginning again, i chose to tweet.
I did not send the tweet to get attention from FNB (i did not even tag them). I also figured at this point that no one on Twitter would be able to solve my problem as it turned out that it is not simply something routine. So, the tweet was for my own amusement, trying to add some humour to the frustration with no expectation of anything happening afterwards.
Why were these couple of tweets enough to turn a rant on terrible service into a blog post on winning at Twitter?
- The response was fast.
The first reply tweet came ±30 minutes after my tweet. Without getting technical – this is super fast as i did not tag (@) FNB at all. In the world of Twitter, you cannot wait hours to respond. Twitter is like listening to the radio. It is immediate and in real time. I was still feeling the emotions by the time the conversation took place. If the same message was sent 3 hours later, i might not have even replied as it would have been old news. - The wording was authentic.
I would have expected a simple “Please send us your email address so we can discuss this matter further”. This seems to be the stock standard Twitter customer service response. Instead, “Not on!” does not seem like it was automated or approved by a PC official. Someone was really interested and upset by the issue (just like i was). - Helping me was the goal.
I have had instances on Twitter where the goal of the conversation is to save face or prove that the company is not in the wrong. It is understandable that there can be consequences for admitting that you are wrong on a public forum. But this was irrelevant here. The question was not about right or wrong. It was about making sure i get help. - It was a conversation, not protocol.
A simple “We are sorry to hear about this incident, please send a DM so we can email you” would be sufficient to any person tasked with “handling the twitter” if they don’t get social media. This is not about ticking the right boxes or following the manual. - Expectations were exceeded.
Right now, in South Africa specifically, there are so few companies using Twitter as a tool for creating “wow” experiences, when the conversation below takes place, it is surprising and delightful. Even more delightful than the initial call centre episode was terrible.
Social Media is more about “Social” than it is about “Media”
Below is the entire conversation:
Losing this round of call centre ping-pong with FNB. After 15minutes i'm transferred twice and back at the beginning. #fridayfun
— iaan van niekerk (@iaanvn) September 20, 2013
@Rbjacobs call center was not helpful, but personal banker at RMB was able to provide some clarity. Thanks again 😉
— iaan van niekerk (@iaanvn) September 20, 2013
@Rbjacobs call center advice was to go to branch. Couldnt explain issue/reason for problems. Going to branch would not have helped. Thanks!
— iaan van niekerk (@iaanvn) September 20, 2013
@Rbjacobs will do. Ps This conversation completely changed the emotion involved with this issue. appreciate it!
— iaan van niekerk (@iaanvn) September 20, 2013
@Rbjacobs no, thank you! 😀
— iaan van niekerk (@iaanvn) September 20, 2013
After personally complaining about the smoking section in a specific local restaurant time after time, and nothing changing I posted something on Facebook and finally got a response. Now the smoking section is not the peeing section in the swimming pool 🙂
Great story Iaan! It’s great that a lot of South African companies are using social media to offer great customer service and we can only hope that this customer-centric approach filters down to their other channels too.
Having said that, we as consumers need to take the first step in the process and bring the issue to the service provider’s attention and we have to stop thinking of it as moaning but rather as helping these companies provide us with better service.
I feel slightly different about this. I see this as a big fail of FNB rather than a win. You should not have to bypass the official way of getting your issue resolved in order for it to be. Companies are “using” Twitter purely because they are scared of the negative press, no other reason. How many poor souls were left on hold or being transferred all over the show while your issue was resolved? I hope the guy you emailed your details to does something to tackle the real issue of their telephone customer service being sub-par, rather than just going on to assist people who use Twitter. Just imagine how poor their customer service would be if they closed their telephone lines and branches and did all their customer interaction via Twitter, LOL.
I love you take on this, Jim. The interesting thing is that my issue is still not resolved. So Twitter was not an alternative to the normal channels (which i still have to follow) What made this interaction interesting for me was how it changed the way i felt about the initial bad service.
Same issue. Still unresolved. But i felt like i had a good experience as opposed to the way i felt after putting the phone down in the call centre lady’s ear 0_o
Yeah, I can see that and I agree. From the customers perspective it’s cool to finally get the ear of someone by whatever means, but my take on it really is just that the company has usually already failed by the time you get to that stage. I tend to think how would the company fare if the customer was my grandparent, with no access to twitter? Sometimes the guy in the shop who raises his voice and shouts the loudest ends up getting their issue resolved first, but that doesn’t make it right. Companies need to focus on assisting the people who quietly wait in line and on the end of the phone, that way people wouldn’t “need” to scream and shout, or indeed turn to Social Media in order to get the assistance they deserve. Ooh, gotta love a Monday morning rant 🙂
I’ve had numerous experiences with @rbjacobs and its always like this. Who ever pulls rb’s strings is doing a great job!
Whilst it’s a pity your prob wasn’t resolved… it’s still great to have the problem handled… and great that your impression of their brand changed #service