I've spent my entire professional life as a television network publicity and corporate communications executive at such places as Fox, GSN and Lifetime TV. I get a rush dealing with live broadcasts, tight deadlines and press conferences. I think I enjoy my job so much because I love working with the press. In addition to all that, I enjoy being an industry blogger and a social media expert and leading my own consulting firm in Los Angeles. 
DirecTV made me a happy customer today
Do you have a twitter account?
If you don’t, this post today may change your mind, because the best device out there right now, hands down, for customer service is twitter. And to back up my words, here’s a real-life case study that happened to me this morning.
I was starting out the day by paying bills and when I opened my DirecTV notice I saw an increase. Yup, DirecTV had a cost of living increase on my bill. It went from $109 to $115. I had been paying for the premier service and hence, I knew that I was paying for a higher priced package. But, now that I am in transition, every penny counts so I knew it was time to change packages.
So I called the 800 phone number to DirecTV and got a nice enough, but non-understanding drone. She read and re-read me my options and didn’t hear a word I said. All she could offer me was a $10 discount for 12 months or $20 off for six – and then after that period of time it would jump back again to the $115 package. Even though I have been a loyal customer since I became a home owner in 1999, it didn’t matter. DirecTV was not budging one inch even after I asked to speak to her supervisor, Shauna, a resolution specialist. Shauna was an exact copy of the first one. Just read me my rights.
Now, I did tell the sales reps that I am a cable executive and know how this end of the business works. I also added that I was an industry blogger and that I know several executives at the company (which is the truth). I didn’t tell them this to leverage a better deal, but mostly to warn them that I would probably blog about this. They didn’t seem to care. So the conversation ended with me telling them that I wanted to talk to someone else at DirecTV who would care that I have been a loyal customer. Shauna replied that there was no one else for me to talk to at DirecTV. I said I’d call someone at its El Segundo Headquarters and bid her good day.
I was a bit furious so I got on twitter and starting asking if anyone else had similar problems. And then after a clear moment of thought, I searched for DirecTV on twitter and realized that they had an account. So I sent them a tweet.
Here’s how it played out.
After my little twitter rants, about five minutes later I got a message from DirecTV on twitter. Marvelous.
After I tweeted that info …about six minutes later, Rita, called me. She listened to me and understood what I was asking, but more importantly she thanked me for being a loyal customer. She told me about other packages that were available, but not included on the website and she got me to a happy place, where I felt like I mattered to DirecTV. Bravo. And because my mom trained me well, I made sure that I thanked them publicly on twitter.
Also, as an added bonus. Fred Farrar saw my complaints on twitter and provided me with helpful advice. And better yet, after a brief discussion we both realized our paths crossed during our careers. It was such a nice surprise. Fred writes a daily ratings round-up article titled “Hot off The Press” that is a great must-read for those who follow TV.
So besides customer service, twitter connects you with colleagues…just like that.
At this point in time, major corporations are all installing twitter customer relations departments. Most airlines have them (remember Kevin Smith and Southwest); Toyota now has one as do most others. You can find companies on twitter at search.twitter.com. Also, to sign up for account, it’s super easy and takes two minutes. If you have any trouble, just give me a shout.
See you on twitter.
@cindyronzoni
@godgirl
Wow, Cindy, thanks so much for posting this! It’s fascinating to see how just being calm, polite and persistent can pay off.
I recently had a similar experience with Comcast. After years with the same old DVR, I wanted a specific kind of new HD cable box. But the initial Comcast response — 4 people on the phone, another at a physical Comcast office, over almost an entire day of trying — was to keep telling me: You get what we give you, and that’s all I can do. I just kept calmly repeating that this was not an outcome that would make Me The Customer happy; and if you don’t have the authority to help me, I understand, but then you need to put me in touch with someone who does.
I was polite, but firm, and I finally got transferred to a person who took *personal* responsibility for it, which is the key, as you discovered. And that person sent out a tech who took *personal* responsibility, when the first desired cable box turned out to be a brick, to arrange to return with a working model at a specific day and time. Which he did.
Now I’m happy! But most customers won’t work that hard. They expect the company to do that. And if not, they won’t be that company’s customers anymore. I stressed this to the Comcast people I dealt with, but you never know if they will send the message up the chain of command. Or, more important, if the company even has a mechanism or an attitude to allow this.
It’s astonishing to me that companies invest billions in technology, and comparatively nothing to establish/refine employee systems and training to make sure it all serves the most important person in the business — the customer.
Thanks Diane…Yeah, I feel sorry for those who are not as savvy as we are with the back-end workings inside the cable companies. There are definite buzz words that can be used like asking for a retention specialist and the oh yeah…competitors are cheaper – shut my service off. It’s so sad that you have to work hard as loyal customers to get results. Seems a bit backward if you ask me. And now because of social media, it is beneficial to make customers happy vs. unhappy. For every unhappy customer they will tell at least 5 people. There’s power there. Customers are still king.