Why Social Media is So Powerful

I need to share a story with you to illustrate my point to you. However,I must first take a moment to tell you a little about social media.

As you may know by now, social media is allowing businesses to market their businesses like they never have before. When it comes to social media many businesses can reach a large amount of potential clients on a next to nothing budget. Not only that, but social media acts as a great platform to showcase customer loyalty, appreciation and address problems. Now on to the story:
The battle between my hosting company and I
It was a chilly Sunday morning in Austin, Texas. I wasn’t quite ready to start my day, I wanted to call some friends and tell them about my week and listen to their stories. However, something prompted me to check my PayPal account, and I noticed that $ 15.00 was taken out of my account for a domain name that I clearly stated I no longer wanted to use.
I didn’t fret. I jumped on my hosting companies 24/7 chat line and proceeded to tell the agent about the mix-up and requested a refund. After 30 minutes of chatting, he apologized that he couldn’t give a refund due to the term of service agreement. I was not pleased with that answer and requested a supervisor. Once the supervisor hopped on the chat, he stated that he can cancel my domain name; however, he wouldn’t be able to issue a refund. I explained to him that I talked to a previous representative over the phone to cancel that domain name, and as soon as I said that the supervisor stated he listened to the call and there was no record of me saying I want to cancel my domain name.
Customer loyalty is irrelevant when you don’t abide by the terms of service
I was like seriously: You pulled up the call that fast and listened to it?” I could just sense his tone was insincere and sarcastic. After demanding a refund numerous amounts of times, the supervisor kept referring me to the terms of service and ended the chat. At this point I was livid! To be honest, I didn’t care about the $ 15.00 refund, I cared about the way I was being treated after I have been a customer for more than 5 years and have about 15 domain names with this company.
I wanted respect… I wanted to be treated like a loyal customer, and not just a number. Therefore, I tried to keep my cool, and I called the customer service line thinking I would get a different result. Unfortunately, I got the same supervisor I was talking to via chat and his tone was defensive. I was shocked by the first thing he said when he answered the phone. Are you ready for it? Here it goes:
Supervisor: The call was already routed from chat, and I already told you everything via chat, and you are NOT getting a refund.
Me: Excuse me, I have been a loyal customer for 5 years, and I would like to be treated with respect. Since I am not using this domain name anymore, I would like a refund or at least a credit.
Supervisor: There is no record of you saying you wanted to cancel the domain name. I listened to the call last week that you had with our agent and there was no mention of that.
Me: Can I listen to the call since you and I are obviously talking about a different call?
Supervisor: No. I know what the agent said and there was no mention of the domain name.
Me: Well, I want a transcript of the call, because I know what I said during the call. I am very lucid.
Supervisor: Well, according to the Terms of Service, you are responsible for this domain name.
Me: Well, you guys charged my card 10 days before the expiration date of the domain, when it clearly says that you will charge it 3 days before. I usually get notifications, and if need be, I will cancel.
Supervisor: According to the terms of service….
Me: Let’s forget about the terms of service for a moment. Let’s talk about the fact that I am a loyal customer who has been with you for 5 years, never ever had a problem until now. And now that I don’t need to utilize your service and you charged my card days earlier than you were supposed to, you are telling me that I can’t get my measly $ 15 back or at least get a credit?
Supervisor: Well, I don’t know your intentions. We give refunds only to copyright infringement issues, and by giving you this refund we will be losing money.
I was truly shocked at this response. I mean this company is a multi-million dollar company and I am fighting tooth and nail to get my $ 15 back
Me: Actually, you will be losing more money by NOT giving me my money back. I am a loyal customer that has already given your company thousands and thousands of dollars throughout the years, and I will be buying more domain names in the future. However, I am being treated very poorly right now I will take my business elsewhere.
Supervisor: Well, according to the terms of service, you are responsible …
Me: Do I have to come to the local offices and talk to the CEO about this.
Supervisor: It’s a closed office and if you come, the police will be involved.
Me: I am tired of this running around, you guys charged my card when you weren’t supposed to – someone dropped the ball and now I am paying for it with time and money. What can you do?
Supervisor: Well, if you are willing to accept responsibility that you didn’t read the Terms of service, and that you will read them in the near future; I can give you a credit. I will just send you an email.
Whew! I know your blood is boiling for just reading that. You can imagine how high my temperature was. I was still not pleased with the outcome, so I took to Twitter.
I was amazed about the response I received from Twitter!
You are probably thinking why I didn’t go to Twitter first. Well, I thought since I was LOYAL customer and never had a problem with this company that it will be resolved immediately. Wishful thinking. Anyway, I went to their Twitter support handle and explained my frustration.

The Twitter support staff was more than accommodating. I got a response back within in minutes from an agent, let’s just call him Jay. Jay asked for me to send him the ticket number and I was not able to because I was out of the house. Instead, Jay went to look through my previous chats I had with the previous agents.

Jay automatically sent me an email and said we apologize and since we charged your card 10 days before hand, we will be more than happy to refund your money as long as you relinquish control of the domain name. Done. Then I went back to Twitter, and I had another message from Jay stating that he sent the email and just respond so he can know I received it.
Chat & Phone Time: 90 minutes to no resolution
Twitter: Less than 5 minutes to a resolution
Really? Wow! You mean to tell me I was on chat and the phone for 90 minutes and there was no resolution. Then all I had to do was go to Twitter and it get it resolved in 5 minutes? Why? Because:
Social Media Is Powerful!
You see, a private chat or conversation between my hosting company and I is just that; between my hosting company and I. There is no one to see how furious I am except for the customer service agents, and there is no one to see how frustrated I am except for the people I tell afterwards. But, when it comes to social media, everyone can see my frustration and disappointment with the company. Word of mouth spreads like wildfire because all I have to do is send one tweet or make one post, and it goes out to all of my fans and followers to see.

The hosting company knows if they have one social media fallout, it can result into thousands and thousands of dollars’ worth of lost profits. Imagine if my private conversation with that rude supervisor was blasted on my social media platforms. Do you think potential clients looking for a hosting company would choose them? Um, I think not!

Therefore, if you are running a company, it’s imperative that you utilize social media to your advantage. One unsatisfied customer can be a potential threat to your business with the power of social media. Social media is making it easier than ever to get voices heard, and problems resolved quickly as possible. Whether you are the business owner or the customer, social media has the potential to work in your favor.
What do you think about this incident? Have you ever experienced such a thing? If so, I would love for you to share your stories in the comment box below. I look forward to hearing from you!

Photo Credit: Freedigitalphotos.net by Ambro