Social media customer service – Handling complaints & compliments

With technology being at the tip of our fingers, consumers can connect with brands instantly when they feel the need to. Social media platforms are becoming the ‘go-to’ option when they feel the need to complain or leave a positive comment. As some companies might cringe at the thought of being publically complained about, this doesn’t have to be a bad thing. Turning that complaint into a satisfied customer needs to be your number one goal when it comes to social media customer service.

One of the reasons that customers tend to revert to social media to get issues resolved, is because it is a quick and convenient method as opposed to emailing or calling a customer care line.

Handling complaints on social media

The old saying “the customer is always right” still goes in today’s time. Unhappy customers can have a negative impact on your brand if their complaint are not attended to. Follow these simple guidelines for social media customer service:

• Never ignore a complaint: The absolute worst thing for your brand that you can do is to ignore a complaint. This includes deleting them from your company page. Rather respond in a friendly manner, and try to resolve the bad feelings.
• Be compassionate and respond as a human: Your customers shouldn’t feel like they are talking to a machine, which is often the case when they get e a generic or auto response. Instead of replying “Dear Customer, please direct all complaints to this and this number, Kind Regards, Management”, rather reply with a more personal message like: “Hi Adam. We are sorry to hear about your bad experience. Please send me an email at … so that we can resolve the issue. Thank you, Mary”. Instantly the customer will feel that his issue is important to the company, and will be attended to.

• Offer a suitable solution: A suitable solution depends on the complaint at hand. If a staff member treated them rudely, thank them for the information, and let them know that the matter will be investigated and taken further to avoid future issues. Dissatisfaction regarding products can be handled with a voucher etc.
• Response times: Your business pages should be monitored constantly to avoid missing complaint and even compliments. Don’t wait days before responding, as customers expect quicker response times form social media platforms.

Don’t forget the compliments!

If your customers take the time to compliment your brand, staff or products on social media, take the time to thank them! This will only strengthen the relationship with your customers, assisting in retaining them. Social media platforms can truly offer many benefits to your company if managed correctly. The bottom line is to let your customers feel that they are important to your company – which they are.