The popular notion stating that if a customer receives poor service, he/she will tell nine other people, has been grossly out of date since the advent of the Internet. In reality, customers can electronically tell millions of people about their experiences. And now, with Twitter, people can tell others about their experiences as they happen.

Often my conversations with people make me think we’re facing a growing technology divide. One group of my friends and colleagues are actively online and, for the most part, use social media like Twitter, FaceBook and LinkedIn. But others stare at me like I’m speaking in tongues when I talk about using these social media tools to connect with their customers.

That’s why I love Chris Brogan’s recent post about a small comic shop in Amesbury, MA that uses Twitter very effectively. As Chris points out:

I have been reading quite a few blogs and comments lately about how social media and customer service need to come together. There has also been a lot of talk about the Social Customer and its importance. I wholeheartedly agree, and as you might imagine, I have a few quick thoughts on the subject which I will share below (inspired by some comments on left on Esteban Kolsky’s post at the blog TheSocialCustomer).

About two-thirds of the times we write about a specific company, we get a comment or some sort of feedback from the company. Sometimes it’s an employee defending them. Sometimes it’s a PR person offering to help. Once in awhile it’s the CEO.

No matter who responds, I’m always impressed. Because it means they’re listening and they care. They care enough to speak up and get involved.

If you want to deliver good great Amazing customer service, the first thing you need to know is what your customers want. Customer service is all about giving your customers the experience they want, in a way that’s sustainable for your organization.

This sounds simple enough but it’s not as common as it should be. One reason is because it’s not always been easy to learn what our customers want. It’s hard enough just managing a business without having to add the burden of trying to get our customers to give us more information.

In the last 24 hours, the ‘net has been abuzz with Google’s admission that their SEO is not as good as it could be.  Some see this as a sign that Google “ain’t all that”. Others see it as a reason to question the value of SEO. Regardless of what you make of Google’s SEO revelation, I see some lessons here for all of us.

1. Openness and honesty are cool. (And they make a difference.)

After looking at the trend data yesterday from Indeed.com, I ran across a post that also referenced customer service jobs. This is from Heidi Miller at Spoken Communications who talks about customer service trends. She referred to a Forbes article in which Andrea Ayers explains why “… customer service jobs will grow and grow”.

In her piece, Ms. Ayers cites statistics and data to support her conclusion. But her best argument is:

In 2009, Dave Carroll (a professional musician from Nova Scotia, Canada) engaged a massive worldwide audience to share his customer service story about United Airlines. Using YouTube.com to deliver his message, he wrote and performed a song that has made an impact.  Some people estimate 100 million people saw his video.

You see, United Airline broke his $3500 guitar then rejected his request that they pay for it. But after his video went viral United changed their corporate mind and offered to reimburse him.  (You can see the video below.)

When customers are having problems they want your company to help. When they can’t get help in person or by phone, they turn to their computers. Many reach out to social media sites like twitter to get a company’s attention.

Something you might not know about your customers is this: Their perception of you is damaged when you don’t respond to their tweets.

On the radio this morning (thanks NPR) I was thrilled to hear how the city of Boston is making it easy and convenient for their citizens to give them feedback. They have created an iPhone application called Citizens Connect that enables iPhone and iPod users to send instant feedback to the city about issues that need attention.

From their web page:

“The application, part of the brand new suite of online services called “Citizens Connect,” provides constituents with the ability to send service requests to the Mayor’s 24-hour Hotline complete with pictures and location at the push of a button. Constituents then receive a tracking number in return as a way to keep a tab on their requests.”

This is an exciting example

Yesterday evening my anti-virus software went crazy. It started finding viruses all over my netbook. After several hours of banging my head against our kitchen table, with no success in cleaning up the problem, I turned to my good friend Google for help. There I discovered (to my great relief) that there was no virus on my computer. Instead, my anti-virus software had a problem.

I learned this because millions of others were having the same experience. Because many of them were discussing it online I was able to conclude that it was a software malfunction that would soon be fixed by the software vendor.

What I find shockingly sad is

Yesterday I emailed the company that makes the thermostat used in our house. It’ s big company, a major player in this business.  Still I did not expect a fast response. I guess I never do (unless the company I’m emailing is called Zappos).

I was surprised to get a reply email from the company in less than 24 hours. (Consumer appliance manufacturers are not known for being exceptionally speedy with their email customer service.) So I was pleased. But my good feeling only lasted several seconds because the email they sent me said this: