As the digital pandemic continues to spread rampantly around the globe, more companies are starting to see the value of incorporating social media into their customer service mix. But as companies are getting the hang of utilizing social media to provide customers with rich online experiences, are they forgetting good customer service on the home front?
Prime Example
Earlier this month, SmartBlog wrote an article about “how Delta connected the dots between social media and customer service,” praising Delta for the creation of a Twitter handle dedicated to customer service. Unfortunately, Delta forgot to transfer this same exemplary service to their corporate policy on military baggage.
Just days before the article was written, a social media war was launched against the airline giant for charging a group of soldiers returning home from active duty nearly $3,000 in excess baggage fees. A video posted by the angry soldiers on YouTube quickly went viral and spread to Facebook, Twitter, national media outlets and blogs. Nationwide, Delta was depicted as cold, callous, unpatriotic and insensitive to America’s service members.
While Delta’s employees didn’t violate any policies, the company issued a formal apology within hours of learning about the charges and informed their social media critics that they were reviewing the policy and working to rectify the situation. In one day Delta changed its baggage policy to allow four bags for military personnel flying coach and five for those in first class. They then leveraged their social media connections to issue information about the changed policy using:
Lessons to Learn
Delta was able to minimize a publicity nightmare because they did more than just apologize. They took action and changed a policy that no longer aligned with their socially savvy and customer-oriented corporate structure. Now that the dust has settled, what can other businesses learn from Delta’s mini-customer service crisis?
Lesson #1: Online customer service only goes so far. It’s not enough to provid e customers with a rich online experience that encourages dialogue, values customer feedback and immediately addresses concerns online if when they leave the digital realm they are met with bad customer service or contradictory company policies.
Lesson #2: Connect the dots between online and offline customer service. The same great customer service that transpires in the digital space must be integrated into a company’s business model and executed outside the digital realm as well.
Lesson #3: If you’re going to encourage consumer feedback online, you must be willing to adapt when a real problem arises. When things got heated in the social space, Delta quickly put out the fire by addressing the situation and making necessary changes to demonstrate responsiveness.
Did Delta Really Learn These Lessons?
Delta has found itself back in the hot seat again. A partnership with Saudi Arabian Airlines that was announced in January has sparked a new controversy. As part of the new contract, Delta may have to agree to ban Jews, Israelis and passengers carrying non-Islamic articles of faith from flights leaving the U.S. and entering Saudi Arabia – even if the passengers are taking connecting flights. Let’s see how they handle this one.