Have you ever been in customer service hell?  With the mass outsourcing of customer service responsibilities I think it goes without saying that you have.  You have been stuck on the phone for hours, you have been disconnected numerous times, you have hung up the phone in frustration with your problem unsolved.

Companies have been experimenting with live, instant message type support for years.  You click on a live chat link like the one pictured above and it opens a chat box.  If you are lucky you find a helpful person on the other keyboard.

Enter Twitter.

Twitter as a Customer Service Tool

A couple of weeks ago I reviewed a Twitter account called @ComcastCares.  Comcast has been monitoring Twitter for negative comments and responding to them for months now and many companies have followed suit.

These companies have been monitoring Twitter for references made to their company, staff, products or services and responding to negative tweets using Twitter as the vehicle of response.

Part of this strategy is an attempt to manage the reputation of the company on Twitter and other social media sites.

But, is there an opportunity for Twitter to become a primary tool that drives customer service?

Twitter is Real Time

At its core, Twitter is a combination blog and instant message service.  The instant message portion of the service is where companies see the opportunity.  It is conceivable that a large company could have a team of customer service representatives monitoring tweets and responding to them.

The downside to this of course is the public nature of Twitter.  Do companies benefit from having their customer service issues broadcast over Twitter for all to see.  I think this can be overcome by the use of Direct Messaging through Twitter.

Twitter is an evolving communications channel.  I expect there will be changes made to Twitter as the users begin to demand functionality through the system.

It will be interesting to watch the evolution of Twitter over the next couple of years as it continues to grow in popularity both with users and suitors that wish to buy the megasite.

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