Social Media Complaining

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nzkiwiman

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#210462 28-Mar-2017 14:48

Just wondering if anyone has used companies social media accounts to complain (or maybe even praise) about something ... if so, what were your reasons for using this avenue rather than in person?

Last week I went into a large retailer, had some stuff in my hand to purchase and wanted some help getting something from overstock that I couldn't get on the shelf
Ask at customer services who put me in touch with someone who then refused to get the item down because "it was going to another store". I knew this was a lie but didn't press it, but headed back to customer services to try and get someone else - apparently there was no one else who could help.

So I put the items I was going to purchase back on the shelf and then complained to the social medial account of the store in question
In the morning I had a request for contact details, and about an hour after giving my work phone number I had a call from the manager of the store who apologised for the poor service, and advised that the worker should not have made excuses about the stock and should have got it down for me.

I haven't had a chance to go back and see if I can get the stock down yet, but plan to in the next few days ...

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#1749470 28-Mar-2017 15:11

Oh hell yes.... did it get me anywhere ? 9/10, no.

Im finding more companies are locking down their Facebook pages, so people cant post, therefore no complaints.

Or the other thing is "contact us on...." - why ? You're on FB, Im on FB, why cant you just help me here ?

Twitter I tend to get more positive outcomes, think its mainly because theres no way for the company to censure you, so they need to be seen acting nicely.

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sen8or

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#1749478 28-Mar-2017 15:18

I have twice.

Once was with Whittakers Chocolate when my daughter had a bug of some sort in her chocolate bar. Their contact was swift and their handling of the problem was superb, no "brush off" but a sincere apology, suitable compensation, and followed through with results from tests on the bug found and communicated back to us promptly. I probably could have gone to pak n save with the complaint, but I doubt it would have gotten back to Whittakers and they wouldn't have had a chance to investigate if they had a problem.

2nd was to Countdown. Several times they have advertised gluten free products in their mailers (once was a xmas pudding, the other was hot x buns), as my daughter is coeliac she often misses out on these sorts of things, so we went into multiple countdowns in Christchurch (rolleston, hornby & Moorehouse Ave) and none of the stores had them as advertised. Logged into website and they were available, however when I set our area, they then disappeared. Complained to the stores, nothing. Complained on their facebook page, got a "please provide contact details" response which I did, then nothing. Gave up.

Even a complaint on social media doesn't have to be "bad press" if its handled properly.

dclegg

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#1749480 28-Mar-2017 15:23

I do it quite a lot. In some instances, it can be far quicker than more traditional customer service avenues. Especially if call centres are involved.

I find that many NZ companies have harnessed Twitter quite well to turn negative experiences into positive outcomes. As a customer, I think it's key to keep your criticism as constructive as possible.

It is also important to see whether this will actually be an effective communication medium, by browsing their timeline and seeing if they actually respond to to tweets. There are still quite a lot of companies that simply use social media as another channel for one way advertisements.

richms

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#1749483 28-Mar-2017 15:29

I usually will. If a company tries to take things to a phone call I regard that as a failure as I do not like doing business that way.

Dealing with people on the phone as a work thing is fine, but I detest talking to businesses to sort my own things out.

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MadEngineer

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#1749486 28-Mar-2017 15:32

Ive used it once - couple of years ago via twitter as I was getting nowhere with the Orcon helpdesk.

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mattwnz

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#1749487 28-Mar-2017 15:32

Twitter is good, Facebook is hopeless. Many companies prevent people posting on facebook, especially those that get high numbers of complaints. Many people do use facebook to complain to, and you will find that most replies tell the person to contact them, so the 'conversation' can be moved off facebook. I have found that many of the big chains facebook pages, are run from over in Australia.

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mattwnz

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#1749489 28-Mar-2017 15:35

richms:

I usually will. If a company tries to take things to a phone call I regard that as a failure as I do not like doing business that way.

Dealing with people on the phone as a work thing is fine, but I detest talking to businesses to sort my own things out.

Exactly. If they have an online method of communication, and you have chosen to use that, then why would you then want to switch to another form of communication? Phone calls are inefficient, and can be misinterpreted. But I have found companies like phonecalls because there is no paper trail. That is why many people record phone calls these days, especially when dealing with sales people.

richms

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#1749491 28-Mar-2017 15:37

mattwnz:

Exactly. If they have an online method of communication, and you have chosen to use that, then why would you then want to switch to another form of communication? Phone calls are inefficient, and can be misinterpreted. But I have found companies like phonecalls because there is no paper trail. That is why many people record phone calls these days, especially when dealing with sales people.

Yeah but they are a pain like paper mail in that you cant search them like with emails. At least phone call recordings can be backed up easily and not end up put somewhere like paper mail does.

Richard rich.ms

mattwnz

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#1749497 28-Mar-2017 15:40

richms:

mattwnz:

Exactly. If they have an online method of communication, and you have chosen to use that, then why would you then want to switch to another form of communication? Phone calls are inefficient, and can be misinterpreted. But I have found companies like phonecalls because there is no paper trail. That is why many people record phone calls these days, especially when dealing with sales people.

Yeah but they are a pain like paper mail in that you cant search them like with emails. At least phone call recordings can be backed up easily and not end up put somewhere like paper mail does.

I meant 'paper trail' in terms of emails, where you have a written record of what was said, not physical mail. Maybe 'electronic trail' is a better term.

vexxxboy

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#1749501 28-Mar-2017 15:44

The Warehouse is really bad at doing this and complaining anywhere is a waste of time you just get an apology , which means nothing as the same thing will happen next time. I have found the only way to get the product is start doing it yourself, within seconds of moving that ladder you will get help from a staff member .

Common sense is not as common as you think.

mattwnz

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#1749536 28-Mar-2017 16:07

vexxxboy:

The Warehouse is really bad at doing this and complaining anywhere is a waste of time you just get an apology , which means nothing as the same thing will happen next time. I have found the only way to get the product is start doing it yourself, within seconds of moving that ladder you will get help from a staff member .

I have had the same problem at the warehouse, where they don't have floor stock, but have it out the back, awaiting to be put on the floor. But they won't get it for you, so you have to make another trip in. I think they need a bit of a shakeup, because the customer experience isn't great. Even going to the checkout, they often only have 1-2 tills open, so you can be waiting 10 minutes plus in line. They don't even have self service like some similar stores like kmart. Then in the entrance of my local one, they have excercise machines roped off, which are for staff use only. It is offputting to see that sort of thing when you walk into the store.

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dafman

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#1749558 28-Mar-2017 16:21

If they lock their facebook pages, a good ol' moan outing them on GZ can help soothe your frustration.

Hammerer

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#1749613 28-Mar-2017 17:23

I always contact organisations privately so they have an opportunity to resolve the issue. I have also moved up the organisational tree if responses are unhelpful at lower levels. Public communications only follow after they've had a good opportunity to resolve the issue.

On reflection, the non-public route has pretty average results from my memories of getting issues resolved to my satisfaction:

The Good Vodafone broadband, Vodafone mobile, Snapper card, The Warehouse, Pak'n'save, Warehouse Stationery, Briscoes

The Bad Wh*tc**lls, 2 D*gr**s m*b*l*, Sp*t*fy

The Ugly C**ntd*wn, On*C*rd, Pr*zzy C*rd (K*w*b*nk), K*w*b*nk, M*cr*s*ft *nt*rn*t**n*l

I would probably be more successful "naming and shaming" but instead I try to stop dealing with organisations that don't front on customer service issues.

Dunnersfella

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#1749654 28-Mar-2017 18:10

I know that one large retailer sends all of its complaints through to the big cheese... as in the CEO / CFO all get Cc'd into any complaints.

They then follow it up with the person in charge of the offending brand... things get resolved VERY quickly when this happens.

I understand locking down a Facebook page though, people LOVE to have a whinge with no consequences... sometimes the complaining is out of boredom, sometimes it's genuine, sometimes it's the only way they can feel like they matter in this big, mixed up crazy world.

One nutbar on the internet can cause some decent level of damage to a business.

A private first approach always pays off for me.

dejadeadnz

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#1749701 28-Mar-2017 19:41

I find that dealing with certain useless companies that have zero sense of customer service (Vodafone and Spark are two prime examples), shaming them factually but openly on social media is the only way to get things resolved quickly and fairly. My preference is not to embarrass anyone but I won't hesitate to use social media ruthlessly when a company leaves me with no other option.

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