Customer service. It’s a phrase that likely conjures up visions of… well, I’m not sure it conjures up anything for most people these days. It’s a dying philosophy in modern times, as we become more insular and removed from our communities. What’s the point of going the extra mile for someone when you’ll likely never come in contact with them again? Indeed, the only instances of excellent customer service that come to my mind are of stores and companies at which I’m a “regular.”
The concept is gaining more traction in blog circles lately, as companies attempt to leverage Web 2.0 technologies to better serve their customers. Sarah Perez recently focused on Twitter as a customer service tool on ReadWriteWeb and Cyndy Aleo-Carreira posted about some personal experiences, good and bad, with several companies. I myself have noticed a couple of new Twitter followers immediately following sign-ups in new betas recently. One amusing incident involved me tweeting “What the hell is Mergelab and what am I supposed to do with it?” only to receive a direct reply from the CEO 10 minutes later. Lesson: excising profanity will usually result in nicer-sounding tweets. Read the rest of this entry »
