The internet is a ranter’s playground. We know this. As witnessed by the countless forum posts and article comments throughout the web. No other place are people so vocal about their gripes, disagreements, and complaints. Even the Techpedition cast gets in the occasional rant or two. And for the most part, people can say whatever they want about a company to get the stress of their lack-luster products or services off their chest.
Then we have Twitter and the notorious ‘@’ symbol. With the @ symbol and the appropriate twitter handle, you can instantly call out any of the numerous companies that have a social face on twitter. Receiving bad service from a company? Put ‘em on blast. Over-charged? Rant about it. Unlike forum posts and article comments, now you have a chance to reach a vast audience in one fowl swoop. Great, we finally have the power. But of course this comes with pros and cons.
Pros. Well, the biggest pro of this scenario is that if you do rant on Twitter, something good may come of it. I’ve heard of countless situations of people having major problems with their service, ranted about it on twitter, and then found themselves getting excellent service from the thousands of company reps who are constantly trolling twitter.
Me Wow, @comcast should really make their self install kits compatible with Windows 7… I’m just saying (what a headache)
Comcast @wudanbal need help?
Me @ComcastBonnie Thanks but I had an old WinXP machine laying around that I finally used. I just know I’m not the only who’s had this problem.
Comcast @wudanbal yeah, you’re not
i could have pushed the bootfile through for ya from here if you didnt have the other box though
Cons. Consequently, the numerous customer service trolls are also a failing grace. Sometimes you just want to get on a social network and rant without retribution. You know, let your friends know how much you hate a particular company without having someone from that company respond back in efforts to make their company look better. And while these companies are on social networks to help you, it’s more about them keeping their companies from looking bad. They will go to any length to keep their company in good graces with the online community. Yep, that includes bothering you, the ranter.
Me Not like this is a surprise to anyone, but Time Warner Cable customer service is great, UNTIL YOU HAVE TO CALL THEM. FRAK…
Time Warner @wudanbal We are here to help as well. Let us know if there’s anything we can do for you ^BH
Me @TWCableHelp I’ve already wasted an hour of my life trying to get help from you guys. Thanks for the well-placed sentiment though.
Time Warner @wudanbal If you didn’t get the help you needed, I apologize. I’d love the opportunity to assist.Email TWCable.Help@twcable.com with details
Conclusion. Ultimately I truly believe having companies on social networks is a good thing, but their is a fine line that doesn’t need to be crossed between harassing your customer, and providing a value added outlet to continue helping customers. We’ll have to see were this leads.
