One primary reason why brands are unwilling to use Twitter is because of negative customer feedback. More and more often customers are using Twitter as a forum to place customer service complaints, making brands wary of joining what seems like a black hole of customer complaints.
While not all tweets that get on your way will be negative, there is a benefit to having your brand on Twitter: you have control over turning negative feedback into positive ones. Negative feedback will be present on Twitter whether you have a twitter account or not. You can’t control what’s being said about you, but you do have control over your answers to unhappy customers. Here are many ways that you can deal withnegative feedback on Twitter.
- Kill them with humor and kindness
Last week, ThinkGeek had a typo in an email they sent out to their loyal customers. They had a lot of Twitter followers point out this typo through Twitter. Instead of ignoring the typo or getting disturbed at the hundreds of finger-pointing tweets, ThinkGeek responded with funny tweets to their followers. One example:
“Can’t you just see those ThinkGeek monkeys wailing because of their typo? Makes me smile every time.”
- Be honest
Southwest Airlines was having a problem with their website, getting many angry tweets from exhausted customers. Instead of replying with the general customer support tweet, Southwest Airlines responded with a genuine apology and honest answer. It’s hard to stay mad at someone who is willing to empathize with your pain.
- Give them a solution
A Gap client was unsatisfied with the quality of one of her purchases. The company was proactive in reaching out to the customer to suggest that she return the product. Instead of being afraid of negative feedback on Twitter, embrace the chance to change negative customer experiences. Reach out to angry customers, frustrated clients or out to make you look like a fool. The more honesty and empathy you share with your customers, the more they will appreciate the experience you create for them.
Source: https://il.ink/blog/social-media/how-to-respond-to-a-negative-twitter-reply-or-feedback/