Testing... testing, anyone there? (Arby's Part 1)

So you've decided to try out this social media thing.

You were told it was good for something, not sure what, but something.

One of the primary functions is two way communication.

Customer Service is a biggie.

If you are on Facebook or Twitter, we expect to be able to reach you and have you respond.

If you don't respond when we reach out to you, there are lot's of losers.

I lose because my issue is not resolved.

You lose because your name is diminished in my eyes due to your lack of response.

But here's where it gets really sticky.

Social Media gives everyone a voice.

And if I have a bad experience, I can share it on Twitter and Facebook and others can read and share and before you know it, your negligence and ignorance is spread to hundreds of others.

I'm going to walk you through an experience I had last week that inspired me to write this.

I visit Arby's at least once a week for breakfast.

I wrote about it briefly on my Collective Wisdom site:

Silly Pricing Games?

Is there any rhyme or reason to your prices?
Is confusion the best policy?
I swing by my neighborhood Arby's once a week for breakfast and the last two times I ordered their special offer which is advertised as $2.99 (plus tax).
When they tell me my total is 5 something, I drive around and correct them.
Even the front line employee screws up and I wonder how many of their customers are getting screwed by this one forgetful employee?

And the article continues....

I wrote that article a few days before it appeared online and sure enough, the day it appeared, I went to Arby's and had the same experience. Order was right, price was wrong.

So, I posted the following on Twitter:


ScLoHo: Dear @Arbys I like you but I wish your employees knew how to ring up my order http://bit.ly/g3VTpv Happened again today


I was expecting a response eventually, but after two hours I posted again on Twitter to see if they were monitoring:


ScLoHo: Feeling disappointed that @Arbys didn't respond to my earlier tweet http://bit.ly/hEV8uK


This time they wrote back, twice within 10 minutes:


arbys: @ScLoHo Sorry about that, we must have missed it.


And:


arbys: @ScLoHo We're sorry to hear about your experience today. Could you let us know more details here: http://bit.ly/dGboXi


I replied:


ScLoHo: @Arbys Ah, that's better, Thanks. I bet you were busy roasting more beef!


Let's stop a moment and see what we learned so far.

From a customer/consumer perspective, cut them some slack if they don't answer right away and give them another shout. Be Polite.

From a business perspective, listen & respond. Give your customers a way to communicate further. Be polite too.

When I clicked on the link they gave me I was at their customer feedback page which asked lots of questions, but that was okay because it was to help them focus on what department needed to follow up.


The next page asked for my contact info and details. Unlike the 140 character limit of Twitter, on their site I could use up to 2000 characters which was more than enough.

After I was done, I was given a follow up code both on the website and a few minutes later in an email:


This is how social media should work as a business. It is a tool to reach out to your customers, and for them to reach out to you.

You can move people to traditional communication methods the way Arby's provided me with a link to the proper page on their site.

But one of the worst things you can do is ignore your customers on social media.

What happened next? I'll tell you tomorrow at noon.

Your thoughts and comments are always welcome!