Digital Prank

Can you imagine a microblogging site like Twitter can influence companies offering wide range of services ? Yes, now big companies including Westpac and Common Wealth bank etc are monitoring Twitter for customer complaints and comments about their services and “tweeting” back to offer resolutions confirms a Sydney commuter daily mX. Telstra BigPond’s email support team and international companies with Australian bases such as Starbuck, Dell, General Motors and Kodak also monitor Twitter constantly to find customer feedbacks and rants to improve their service.

A Twitter rant wrote by Alison Godfrey of Sydney regarding her long wait for the approval of her home-loan with CommonWealth Bank was read by bank’s customer service head who then contacted the customer immediately offering a fast-track processing of application. Alison Godfrey signed the contract next day as a result of the immediate action from the bank. Ross McEvan, the head of CommonWealth Bank’s retail banking department said, “Twitter gives us the chance to understand our customer’s experiences with us, to interact with them in real time and reach out for on-the-spot resolution.” . Nowadays companies cannot afford to have negative messages in the public arena in the current economic climate and increasing competitions, says a social media expert.