1 In 3 Companies With Twitter Accounts Ignore Customer Help Requests

TORONTO - April 9, 2015 - PRLog -- Today’s consumers expect to be able to use social media to get customer service, but a new study by Frank Reactions (frankreactions.com) finds that many companies are not handling the challenge well. The research and consultancy firm tested how well 104 companies that sold online in Canada and had Twitter accounts responded to help requests. It found that 36% of them did not respond at all within two weeks. Even after a reminder tweet was sent, still 30% of the original companies failed to respond.

The fastest response came from London Drugs (@LondonDrugs), which answered within one minute. Others that responded within the first hour included La Senza, MEC, Lululemon, Harry Rosen, Dutil Denim, Sephora, Overstock, Joe Fresh and Tom Lee Music.

Some large companies, such as the Bay, Sporting Life and Grand & Toy, missed the first help request but responded to the follow-up tweet. Surprisingly only three of the seven apologized for the oversight.

Some well-known companies totally failed to respond to either request. They included Amazon.ca, Blackberry, Chapters Indigo, Cineplex, Tim Hortons and 25 others.

The economic arguments for responding to customer comments in social media are strong. Increasingly social media is the first place people turn to when they have a complaint, and the TARP National Consumer Survey found that 82% - 95% of customers who complain and then have their complaints resolved quickly will buy from the company again. Conversely, those who are ignored are likely to repeat their complaints and magnify their impact on social media channels.

“These companies are risking their brand reputation,” says Tema Frank, Founder & Chief Instigator at Frank Reactions. “If you have a Twitter account, you’re setting people up to expect that you’ll be paying attention and will answer help requests.”

The full report, which includes analysis by industry, company size, and length of time in business, is available free online by going to bit.ly/cstwitter2015.