by Kim Taylor
One of the joys of Twitter is the lessons you can learn simply from observing the actions (Tweets) of others.
Over the past few days, I’ve had the opportunity to watch as a former colleague shared her frustration with SunTrust Bank on Twitter. And, because I also follow SunTrust, I was fortunate to see if and how the bank would respond.
Here’s how the online conversation unfolded:
Colleague: “After close to 25 yrs as loyal customer, I am VERY close to taking biz away from SunTrust.”
SunTrust: “I work for SunTrust. What’s going on? I’d like the opportunity to see if I can help. ^BB”
Colleague: “Local branch fixing problem after wks of working w/ fraud dept.”
SunTrust: “Sorry about the delay but glad to hear issue is being resolved. Which branch rep are you working with? I can escalate. ^BB”
Also, I’m following now…can you DM the case #? ^BB
No problem! Relayed ur info to VP Fraud, will update u w/results 2moro. Again, thanks 4 opportunity to make this right. ^BB
Colleague: “SunTrust follow up through Twitter is quite impressive.”
This series of Tweets happened in a period of little more than 24 hours. I don’t presume to know the entire situation, but what I do know is SunTrust is doing it right*. They’re listening, they’re engaging, and they’re helping.
Isn’t this Twitter at its best?
(Hat Tip to Chris Brogan. His newsletter segment, “You’re Doing it Right,” inspired this post.)
Awesome example of a company using social media correctly. There’s nothing more annoying than a company that doesn’t listen.
I had a similar situation with Petco a few months back. I was just fed up with their lack of in-store customer service (always only had one line open, about 10 people deep) and upkeep. Tweeted that I was thinking about taking my patronage elsewhere, and I never received a response. I am now a loyal customer of PetSmart.
Honestly, all I wanted was some feedback. It was the perfect opportunity for this company to inject themselves into the Customer Service issue, and they lost it.
Good for SunTrust for understanding that Twitter is a useful tool to engage directly with their clientele.
Exactly, Ashley. Your example with Petco is a missed opportunity. What Twitter has provided is the ability for companies to easily engage in two-way communication with their customers.
Not only do they get the opportunity to change the perception of one customer, they put themselves out there for all to see.
It’s amazing how few companies are really doing it right.
[...] the following day, between client visits, I received a phone call from a friend alerting me to a blog post that recapped my Twitter experience. Even though my former colleague was not aware of the telephone [...]
Kim…just wanted to say thanks again for sharing your viewpoints, your blog posting is a huge hit at SunTrust! It’s a huge energizer for our team and really brings home the point of doing the right thing for our clients and then making sure that we fix the processes that led to the mistake so that it doesn’t happen to others. As you know, I love interacting with our clients — this blog posting is hanging as a reminder at my desk that we’re re-defining expectations!
[...] They’re Doing it Right – February 11, 2010 [...]