Having a well thought out strategy for dealing with social media complaints and negative feedback is essential for organisations. But where to start?

1. This ar cle looks at the trend towards using social
media to voice customer complaints and makes some
prac cal sugges ons to assist organisa ons to respond
appropriately and contain reputa on damage.
Customers are increasingly using social media to
voice complaints
These days, a customer who has a poor experience can very
easily make a complaint about it using a variety of social media
channels. The channels include social networking sites (i.e.
Facebook and MySpace), content communi es (i.e. YouTube),
internet forums, blogs and microblogs (i.e. Twi er) and complaint
websites like www.complaintline.com.au, www.notgoodenough.
org or www.customerunderground.com. People who want to
publically air their grievances are finding and crea ng new social
media opportuni es and avenues every day. There are even
online groups who are educa ng debt collec on agencies on
how to leverage social media to increase revenue.
Using social media to make a complaint is a rac ve to some
customers as it can be a fast and easy way to get a en on and
spur the organisa on quickly into ac on. The customer doesn’t
need to look for the organisa ons complaints handling process
on its website or wait on the phone to speak to a customer
services officer and there are no forms to complete. Instead,
they can tweet their complaint or immediately post it online and
generate a sympathe c audience. Up to 20% of complaints are
now made via social media and organisa ons need structures
and systems in place in order to respond to this developing trend.
The number of consumers using social media to 'talk' to
companies is steadily increasing. In the UK, 18 million people
are already using social media for customer service purposes. Of
those who have interacted with a company via social media for
their customer service needs, two-thirds (68%) say it allows them
to find their voice and 65% say it's a be er way to interact with
companies than a call centre.
Somecustomersturntosocialmediaoutoffrustra on
If the customer has had a poor experience within the
organisa on's complaints handling process he or she may turn
to social media out of frustra on. Canadian musician Dave Carrol
made a complaint to United Airlines about his guitar being
broken by baggage handlers, but a er 10 months of unsuccessful
nego a ons with the airline, he recorded a song called “United
Breaks Guitars.” The YouTube video went viral with 1.3M views
in its first 3 days and 10M views within 6 months. The company
subsequently lost 10% of its share value, a whopping $180M
although the direct link between the loss and the Carrol video is
hard to prove.
Clearly the worst case scenario for an organisa on is when
communica ons about a complaint go completely viral across
a number of different channels. This can put the organisa on
directly in the spotlight in front of thousands of exis ng
and poten al customers and can nega vely impact on the
organisa ons reputa on and resources. The popularity of a viral
post is something that the mainstream media picks up on – thus
widening the viewing audience. This occurred with the Dave
Carrol YouTube video – it was also featured on breakfast shows
on Australian television and the song was available for download
from iTunes.
Disgruntled complainants are becoming crea ve in
their use of social media
Complainants can crea vely use technology to reach wide
audiences and the technology is o en free. One Vodafone
customer was so upset about his customer experience that he
created a new website called “Vodafail” and he used this as
the vehicle for driving large numbers of complaints by other
customers and airing his own nega ve views about Vodafone
mobile coverage. The CEO of Vodafone subsequently uploaded
an apology and explana on to YouTube. Before long, the apology
was incorporated by customers into a further complaint sa re
called “Vodafone the Musical” which was also featured on
YouTube.
Complaints via social media are opportuni es to
showcase best prac ce complaints handling
Looking on the posi ve side, complaints provide the organisa on
with an opportunity to showcase effec ve complaints handling
and to transform the complainant AND the onlookers into
advocates of the organisa on. The organisa on's response to a
complaint made on social media may be publicised as widely as
the complaint and this means the organisa on has a chance to
influence thousands of customers who are following the online
conversa on.
A good example of this is “the Virgin Complaint Le er” which
was wri en by a disgruntled adver sing execu ve on his way
from Mumbai to Heathrow. His long le er addressed to “dear
Richard” complained about the food served on the flight and was
punctuated by humorous descrip ons and photographs of the
offending meals. The le er reached a wide audience via email.
When asked about the complaint, Sir Richard Branson reportedly
Wri en by NICOLE CULLEN | Cullaborate
Facing up to
Complaints via
Social Media

2. said "I read it and laughed my head off. I was on holiday so I gave
him a ring and we had a good laugh together," he said. "We have
actually won prizes in India (for our food) but it obviously wasn't
to an Englishman's taste at all and I said we would make sure
we tried to get the presenta on more to his taste next me. I
offered him the job of coming down to the airline and seeing if
he could help in terms of presenta on.”
The way this complaint was handled put Virgin in a good light –
the complaint was handled personally by Richard Branson, he
was open and responsive, he acknowledged the complainants
concerns whilst s ll promo ng the brand and he also displayed
a sense of humour.
Turning nega ves into posi ves - strategies for
dealing with social media complaints
Organisa ons need to get on the front foot to deal with
complaints via social media. Here are some prac cal strategies
for doing this:
DO...
 Get clear on who has responsibility for social media complaints within the organisa on. This is no me for a turf war
between the IT department, Sales and Marke ng and Customer Rela ons. There needs to be an integrated approach.
 If the social media staff are to be responding to complaints then make sure they have had the relevant training in
complaints handling. The skills necessary to work in the digitally savvy IT world are different to the skills tradi onally found
and cul vated within customer rela ons. Organisa ons need to bridge this gap with customer service and complaints
handling training.
 Make sure that customers can easily find and access your complaints handling process. The easier it is for the customer to
complain directly to you, the less likely they are to use an online forum over which you have no control.
 Develop a policy for responding to complaints via social media and integrate it across the organisa on.
 Streamline your processes so that the right person in your team handles enquiries and complaints. First contact resolu on
is cri cal to customer sa sfac on and will reduce escala on to social media channels.
 Invest in a social media listening program. There are a number of social media monitoring or tracking apps out there and
they will help you find out who is saying what about your organisa on.
 Ensure your social media staff have sufficient authority to provide meaningful remedies and resolve complaints without
escala on. Ensure their key performance criteria (KPI’s) include customer service and complaints resolu on.
 Resource your online customer services adequately so that fast responses can be made to online enquiries and complaints
– customers expect faster responses via social media than via tradi onal forms of communica on.
 Cul vate a culture where it is acceptable to have open and transparent conversa ons with customers, poten al customers
and the broader public. Where appropriate, be ready to discuss issues, acknowledge errors and apologise if necessary.
 U lise the feedback you receive through social media channels to improve your products and services, systems and
procedures. Let complainants know that their feedback is valuable and will be used to make improvements.
 View social media as an opportunity to listen to your customers. It’s just another feedback channel that needs to be
serviced and supported by suitably qualified personnel.
DON'T...
 Don’t ignore the complaint, it’s not going to go away, it will only get bigger
 Don’t give the customer an opportunity to add a complaint about your complaints process to their original complaint.
Customers expect procedural efficiency when you are handling their complaint, so respond to the complaint promptly and
follow through on what you say you are going to do.
 Don’t just refer the customer back to your 1800 line – the customer expects immediate and direct ac on. To be bounced
back to the place they probably started will only annoy them.
 Don’t hide behind smoke screens. Customers expect organisa ons to be authen c and transparent in their approach.
 Social media is just another avenue for feedback and informa on about your organisa on. With increasing numbers of
customers embracing online technology, your organisa on needs to have an integrated and coordinated approach to
responding to complaints via social media.
About the Author
Nicole Cullen has over 20 years experience in the complaints handling industry. Prior to
establishing her consul ng business Cullaborate, she was the Deputy Chairperson of the
Superannua on Complaints Tribunal and Manager of the Financial Services Complaints
Resolu on Scheme. Nicole is an accredited mediator, experienced li ga on lawyer and
expert trainer. Please contact nicolecullen@cullaborate.com.au for further informa on.