The Best Way to Handle an Angry Customer Tweeting About Your Brand
By: Uchechukwu Ajuzieogu
Tags: Customer Success, Twitter, Business, Social Media, Customer Service

Your customer service plan matters now more than ever. With customer interactions increasingly occurring online, companies can benefit — and benefit customers — by offering fast, flexible, and timely support options via platforms like Twitter. And a bit of upfront planning goes a long way toward a smooth execution.

The old saying is if you have nothing nice to say, you shouldn’t say anything at all. Sadly too many people on the Internet forget about this golden rule. This means your company is always vulnerable to things like Twitter trolls.

Twitter has provided companies with a means to instantly engage with customers. Now businesses hear every piece of social dialog related to their brand. But as you probably know, it’s not always nice. In fact, a Provide Support Infographic explained some critical stats:

Upset customers need 12 positive experiences to make up for one bad interaction

73% of businesses do not address customer complaints on Twitter

88% of consumers believe unaddressed complaints on social make them less likely to buy

Social media has given customers a voice. No longer are they limited to private conversations with a customer service representative. They can simply turn to their phones and share their experience with the entire world — all with a few taps of their fingers.

Sharing or even starting customer service experiences on social media is quickly becoming mainstream, and that’s not surprising. In fact, about 67 percent of consumers in the U.S. already turn to social media for customer support.

What’s their weapon of choice? You guessed it! Twitter.

Its real-time, conversational nature makes Twitter the new 1–800 number for customer service.

But how can a company effectively leverage the power of customer service on Twitter?

Let’s take a look.

Steps to Handle Customer Complain on Twitter

In any cases, responding quickly and appropriately to negative social comments can help you increase customer loyalty and retention. As for an angry customer, it’s necessary to be more careful.

Here are some way that can help you deal with this situation:

Respond Quickly: As a starting point, try to reply within 1 hour. This doesn’t mean you need to have all the answers right away. Customers typically want you to acknowledge their issue so they know you‘re looking into it. Take Conversations Offline: All communications on social media are in the public eye, and often when dealing with negative comments, this can prompt others to join in. The best course of action is to take the conversation offline so you can talk to the person one on one. This prevents the situation from escalating, and also helps calm the customer, because you’re working with him or her to resolve the problem. Personalize Your Responses: When customers reach out to you with a negative social comment, they’re typically looking for you to acknowledge and help resolve their problem. If you respond with an automated reply, you’re sending a message that you haven’t taken time to understand the issue and don’t value the customer’s input. Follow Up: Once you’ve responded to a complaint on social media, don‘t assume that you‘ve resolved the issue. Follow up to make sure you've fully met the customer‘s needs. A personal approach lets customers know you value their opinion and put their needs first. It’s typically best to follow up with the customer within a couple of days. This helps you identify early issues and keeps the interaction top of mind. It’s also a good way to-gather feedback about the customer‘s overall experience with your company. Don’t Delete Negative Comments: Deleting negative social media comments won’t make them go away. In fact, if you delete and ignore them, customers will likely keep on commenting and venting their frustration until you’ve addressed them.

Conclusion

The first and foremost thing is — that the person is angry, when they tweet at you. You need to have them cool down. Reach out to them in every possible manner. When a customer is angry, they want attention and they want it NOW! Not later, not after one hour, not tomorrow, but NOW. If you can be NOW — then you’re good to go. If not, then find someone who can be NOW.

After your first contact is made, you NEED to 100% believe what you are going to say next “I will move heavens and earth, I will try to help you out as much as I possibly can and then some”. If you cannot, you’re the wrong person reaching out to.

When a person is pissed and tweeting, he/she does NOT want a junior to tell him in an automated monotone scripted voice how he/she can be of help? What they want is someone Senior and Seasoned to let the Customer know “Hey!!! Hey!!! Buddy!!! You got our attention! — I’m so-and-so, whatever it is — let me assure you from this point onward, it will only get better”.

Have no shame in saying you are sorry to the customer — again and again. Genuinely!

You give that angry, frustrated, mouth-frothing, foul-mouthed customer some NOW Service and Attention. You can take that very same person and turn the situation around that is win-win for all.