Does Twitter encourage public moaning?

At an event for Social Media Week London last week, a question was raised over whether responding to people on Twitter and similar social media sites would encourage more customers to air their complaints in public. In my opinion, the answer is that it probably does, particularly if people see others being responded to effectively. However, this should not be a reason to ignore disgruntled customers. People will still have their grievance, whether or not they choose to voice it. If the alternative is having an annoyed customer that walks away in silence, it is much better to have one that shouts from the rooftops and offers up the opportunity to open up a conversation. People who vocalise their problems provide a way for companies to gain insight into the problems their customers have, and it is likely that if one customer has had a negative customer experience, that there will be a lot more in a similar situation. With the information being out there, it is up to a company to find a way to harness it to improve the customer experience they offer.

Another point raised was about placing this kind of customer service in context with other business priorities. Within many companies resources are limited, so it should be these priorities that decide where resources are used. If it is a choice, should the customer who rants on Twitter be prioritised over the customer who has been left waiting for 10 minutes on the customer service phone line? The challenge is understanding what levels of communication are appropriate for a particular company, how these should be implemented, and how these can fit in amongst other concerns.