How to Get Better Customer Service over Facebook or Twitter

Between call centers and endless phone menus, it's no surprise more of us turn to social media when we need customer service. Some companies are responsive...others, not so much. Getting the best, fastest help over social media is part art and part science. Here are some tips to get the best results, from someone who helps people over social media for a living.

Getting the attention of a company on Twitter or Facebook is usually as easy as sending them a Facebook message, posting to their wall, or using their Twitter handle. Those things work well enough. However, getting good help—that is, getting someone with the power to help—takes more than just @-mentions and wall posts.

Raevyn Wallace manages social media for a living, and handles customer service over Twitter, Facebook, and other channels as well (and full disclosure, is also my girlfriend.) I talked to her about her experiences, how those companies handle the influx of @-replies, wall posts, comments, and messages, and how you can make sure your problem gets addressed quickly.

Remember These Rules



There's more to getting the best customer service than just leaving a complaint asking for help. When I asked Wallace if there were any specific tips that would help everyone get the best possible service over social media, she gave me six simple, concrete rules:

1. Be Nice
2. Be Genuine
3. Be Informed and ready (we can find you usually, but that takes time away from helping you)
4. Be prepared to take it offline.
5. Be persistent.
6. Use all social platforms, it's okay.

In short, many of the same rules that apply to other avenues of customer service apply here as well. Your tone and approach count for a lot, and it's important to remember there's another person on the other end of that screen—a human being, just like you. Odds are that person wants to help, but you have to give them the information they need to do it. Be prepared to take the conversation to direct messages or email. It may feel like the company is trying to shuffle you away from public view, but often they need personal information (phone number, account number, answers to security questions) that they can't ask for in public. Plus, no company wants visitors to their page or profile to see nothing but a huge troubleshooting session with one person. It looks like they're doing damage control, even if someone is just asking a routine question.




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Also, Wallace explained, if you're not getting answers on one network, try another. Twitter's silent? Go to Facebook. No one there? Head to Google+, or Instagram. Anywhere the company has a presence, there's no harm in posting a comment or question asking "Hey, I have a problem with X. Can anyone help me?"

Direct Communication Works Best



If you're serious about getting help with your problem, reply directly to the company's account, send them a Facebook message, or leave a post on their wall. It may seem obvious, but I frequently see people @-replying a company in the middle of a contextless complaint, or worse, not actually using their account name at all (aka, subtweeting). I've also seen other people mention companies they're having trouble with in their private Facebook posts, or in long comment threads—places that the company likely can't leave a response or may not see.

The people who get the fastest, most accurate replies are the ones who reach out directly, and have the information they need for the rep behind the screen to look up their information and work on their problem. Try to make your tweet or Facebook message as informative as possible. Don't waste characters on snark. It may be tempting to vent, but every character counts, and brevity is as important as completeness. Wallace explained:

I personally prefer taking care of surface questions or small problems that don't need identifying information in public. Answering light questions and taking care of easy problems act as kind of an FAQ for observers and can often educate everyone while helping someone else. Plus the banter that can result is awesome.

For anything substantive, reach out directly. If all else fails and you're still not getting the help you need it is more than okay to keep posting to social media and creating cases/sending emails to get the attention you need. If whoever you're talking to has a series of humans manning social media and if it's shift based, trying again later might get you to someone who is more proactive.

Also, your tone and approach are really important. Be nice, be firm, and don't give up. Heck, the nicer and more unguarded you are the more likely you are to get attention if you keep poking at their social accounts. Social Media people are weird, and usually introverted, but are empathetic as all hell. Pull on the heartstrings and appeal to someone's better nature without being contrived and it will get you far.

In other words, save the hashtags and subtweets. Stick to the facts, and explain what you need. Remember, you don't get shat you don't ask for.​