1. Complaints through Social Media
Rosemary Agnew
28 June 2012
How to Turn Public Sector Complaints into Service Improvements

2. The Apology …
How should you react when customers make complaints about you on social media sites (Twitter, YouTube, Facebook etc), rather than bringing them to you directly through the traditional complaints process?
How should you react when customers make complaints about you on social media sites (twitter, YouTube, facebook etc), rather than bringing them to you directly through the traditional complaints process?
This billing suggests I will be standing in front of you with a list of answers and lots of tips on what to do
I’m sorry but I won’t be…

3. Raising awareness of issues Asking questions
What I will be doing is …
Raising awareness of issues
Asking questions
Challenging you to think differently
Encouraging you to go back to your organisations with questions

4. First – honesty time…. 1 General Entitlement
(1) A person who requests information from a Scottish public authority which holds it is entitled to be given it by the authority.

5. Show of hands Who can explain these and how to use them?
Who uses one or more of them regularly?

6. Who sees social media as a threat?
Opportunity or threat?
Who sees social media as a threat?
Who sees social media an opportunity?

7. Is the issue real?
THINK about the power of media, then factor in:
Instantaneous
Outside your control
Random
Free
Easy
Interactive
Social media HAS & IS changing communication and attitudes

8. How is social media used
Complain directly to an organisation
Express opinion about the organisation as a service user
Employees expressing opinions about organisation and colleagues/ managers

9. What is happening now?
Organisations generally fail to respond to complaints in social media
Big organisations worst
Lack of resources
Mirror traditional routes
EXPECTATION is for instant response

10. Recent Research
83% of Britons unhappy with social media complaints service
UK consumers used social media to complain most about retailers (21%) and banks (19%)
33% of those in Northern Ireland criticised telecoms companies
18% of the Welsh used social media to complain about local government
15% of Scots - gas companies
14% in the South East criticised train companies
22% believed they would receive a quicker response – but they are being let down by businesses
Companies are ignoring simple questions as well as complaints
81% didn’t get an acceptable answer to their questions asked on social media

11. Recent Research
22% believed they would receive a quicker response – but they are being let down by businesses
81% didn’t get an acceptable answer to their questions asked on social media
Companies are ignoring simple questions as well as complaints

12. Recent research Nearly ½ expected the company to read their Tweet
Nearly 1/3 received a response from the company
Of those who received follow-up:
83% said they liked or loved hearing
Only 4% didn’t like or hated hearing
Nearly 3 in 4 very or somewhat satisfied
Maritz Research surveyed an online
panel of 1,298 US Consumers
• The panel was pre-identified as:
– Twitter users who frequently tweet
– Have used Twitter to complain about
a specific product, service, brand, or
company
– At least 18 years of age
Nearly 1/2 of respondents expected the company to read their Tweet
Nearly 1/3 of respondents received a response from the company about their Twitter complaint
Of those who received follow-up:
83% said they liked or loved hearing from the company
Only 4% didn’t like or hated hearing from the company
Nearly 3 in 4 were very or somewhat satisfied with the company’s response
Of those who did not receive follow-up:
86% would have liked or loved hearing from the company b their complaint tweet
Only 1% would have not liked it or hated it if they were contacted by the company regarding their complaint tweet
63% would not like it or hate it if the company contacted them about something other than their complaint tweet

13. Recent research Of those who did not receive follow-up:
86% would have liked or loved hearing but
63% not like/ hate it if contacted about something other than their complaint

14. So which age group expected a response?
18-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55+

15. Less expected maybe?
those who use social media will often have expressed dissatisfaction
At the time
Not necessarily as a complaint
Similar demographic and complainer types

16. Opinions about the organisation
Not necessarily voiced as complaints
Risk comes from inappropriate response
YOU have little control over how it spreads
Opinions can turn into complaints (and FOI requests)
Your employees can respond directly
Can be good as well as bad

17. Comments often less guarded
Stay well away, Repeat stay well well away, they are cheap and ****,
no one has contacted me its 14 days now - no broadband - i am stuck and waiting for the new provider to take over. Biggest mistake ever
So far I am very happy with the support which I AM GIVING OUT  
What a load of moaners! I've just switched to [...] phone & broadband. The switchover was seamless
These all came from a blog about a broadband service – the politest ones

18. Principles remain same – execution is different
Have a social media presence
Monitor both complaints AND what is being said about you
Address and record every complaint that comes to you directly
Have a system in place to capture and manage customer complaints
Don’t end up with a two-tier system

19. Tips and advice
Ensure internal systems are geared up, people that manage social media might not be those skilled in dealing with customer complaints
Embed complaints made via social media into mainstream systems - lay out roles and responsibilities
Analyse and quantify complaints data to anticipate need and set response procedures and improvement

20. Tips and advice Be clear about when and how to engage –
tension between when to react and when to note
DONT ignore
Have systems in place to protect employees
Make sure employee responsibilities are set out in T&C etc and applied
Social media creates conversations – do we need to do more to engage in them, eg through mediation based approaches

21. Last one for now…
How would the leaders and decision makers in your organisation answer the questions raised?

22. Questions?

23. Further information Scottish Information Commissioner  @