I have to admit, I underestimated the power of Twitter for awhile — but now that Twitter helped to organize a national uprising in Iran, I've reconsidered a bit.
I opened my Capital One statement this month and I noticed an APR hike from
OK, but this has to be relevant somehow, right? Let's get that —
I Tweeted something, searched for others — and even followed some of them. Hundreds of tweets I can't (politely) repeat on this blog. I did, however, notice one set of Tweets in particular:
Capital One customer meets Fox News anchor? Interesting how efficient that was — interesting in the same way that Twitter organized a national uprising in Iran.
Twitter will be causing a bunch of reputation management problems for guys in suits
And because some of them outsource their customer relations entirely — Capital One included — they might not know until the viral process gains traction and has started to wreak irreparable damage to their brand. They may indeed monitor Twitter — but there's little they can do if the complaints are real and it's not just a misunderstanding — except perhaps reevaluate said business practices. Even then, if they wait too long, the damage is done.
And Capital One doesn't have guns like the Iranian Basij Militiamen
When and if anyone gets upset, Twitter provides a very easy viral starting point. If Twitter potentially upsets a government, it may cause Capital One to treat customers better.
Twitter is a major threat to anyone managing the reputation of a brand — and even a country
If I were some guy in a suit, I'd be watching closely. It's clear that some companies are watching, and do resolve complaints as a result of a renegade employee or genuine misunderstanding — but if there motives are actually malicious, there's very little they can do to put out the fire.
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Major companies already monitor twitter. Regardless of whether the call center is in Britain, America or in India most major companies have a team dedicated to keeping an eye on social media. Their job is to keep an eye out for staff that are mis behaving (posting info they shouldn't etc) as well as keeping an eye on disgruntled customers to keep pr issues down. Company I work for had a customer who posted a comment on twitter, within a few hours the company had contacted the customer and a member of staff was facing a disciplinary investigation.
@peter mcdonald: Perhaps in the case that it's a result of some sort of mismanagement at a lower level it can be effective to do that. In fact, it may even be a helpful tool for these companies — and if the company is acting ethically and responsibly, they can work to resolve the complaint. Ideally, they'd address the complaint before it gains any traction — or it might be an isolated event entirely. However, in the case of Capital One, I see hundreds of complaints, and no obvious instances of resolution found. I encountered the same thing. In this case, Twitter is a threat rather than a tool. Iran presents perhaps a similar situation in a much larger organism. The ayatollahs know they are disliked by the majority of the population. However, despite the electronic surveillance at their disposal, social networking sent shockwaves through the government. Twitter is only not a threat if the entity in question is benevolent. Capital One can contact people on Twitter any time they'd like to. It doesn't appear that they are doing so. My point is simple. Yes, many well-managed brands watch their brand on Twitter to a degree — but the magnitude of the threat may be underestimated if (in my opinion) it almost caused a "e-coup." That would have been an interesting chapter in the history books, and it could still be. It's harder to pull a stunt when it's so easy to network — whether it be fraudulent elections or questionable business practices en-masse that are in no way linked to interest rates or customer behavior.
I have to entirely disagree with Peter above on "most major companies have a team dedicated to keeping an eye on social media." Most major companies DO NOT have any clue what conversations are happening about them. CEO, VPs, and Directors are often thinking "someone else has it covered" while they fail to connect how social media is affecting the channel they reside over. Many large companies have gone a step further and believe the agency of note is doing this for them, but the agencies of note don't even do it for themselves. It is a gross overstatement to think that most big companies know what they are doing in social media or how it relates to different cycles of business. ~Barry Hurd
@Barry Hurd: It's funny too, because all they'd need to do is write a script to hit the search API … cron it once daily, and monitor it for 'badness.' They just don't get it I guess.
I have to agree that I underestimaetd the power of twitter,as Einstein said "simple, but not too simple" I think the power is in the way that people use inventions - like checking out the suits! - now thats a good application of twitter
I was with Capital One for over 25 years. My interest rate was at 6.6% and my credit score was 860. I received no letters from Capital One and got a bill at 16% interest rate. This month it jumped to 16.99 and I received a final bill today(as I cancelled my account with over $13.00 interest on a 70.00 bill. I wrote the CEO advising that I was not typing a formal letter as his company was not worth it. I called customer service which appears to be in India. Could not understand them. Talked to a supervisor which told me it was a "business decision." Never late on fees or transactions. Was told I was not keeping over a 15,000.00 balance so my rates were increased. Since then I have cancelled my account, after 25 years. I dont need them. I have wrote several on line places to acknowledge my complaint. My best advise for everyone. If you can cancel when a company continues bad business practices, do so. Word of mouth is the BEST advertisement. I have spoken to aquintances, friends, neighbors, business associates and relaties urging them to look at their bills and cancel. Close relatives, I am helping them out to get rid of Capital One/Chase(same company) and finding them someone that does honest transactions. The only way to send a message is the pocket book. I am now on my final bill and done with Capital One. Hoo-rah.
@ann jongema: 860 I am not, but I'm in my 20s, never defaulted, paid a day late maybe a few times in my entire life (entirely due to forgetfulness). My credit score is in the 700s. I'm done with them, too.
Twitter has really allowed for many businesses to think about how they act. In the next 5 years I bet we will see small Twitter departments popping up for businesses all over in order to combat situations like this.
The reason people's rates are being raised is because of legislature that was passed which outlaws rate hikes starting spring of 2010. Right now ALL credit card companies are raising rate on customers they think might be risky because in a few months they won't be able to do this.
Major companies already monitor twitter. Regardless of whether the call center is in Britain, America or in India most major companies have a team dedicated to keeping an eye on social media. Their job is to keep an eye out for staff that are mis behaving (posting info they shouldn't etc) as well as keeping an eye on disgruntled customers to keep pr issues down. Company I work for had a customer who posted a comment on twitter, within a few hours the company had contacted the customer and a member of staff was facing a disciplinary investigation.
@ann jongema: imho, the highest FICO credit score possible is 850. Some great credit advice is to keep accounts open, and use it only if you have the cash on hand to back it up. Your credit limit and score is partially dependent on your history. Closing the account makes you look irresponsible to the credit companies (I'd like to give a nod to the forums on creditboards.com for teaching everything I know about credit, if you want to know more in-depth go ask there).
Twitter has got google to come to it for real time feeds. its getting crazy
I was conducting a reptuation review on this company for a project related to small business. It seems like there are a large number of complaints. But I am curious, to whom did you turn your business? We all need? depend? on credit cards to play online until the alternatives are developed/better known. Who do you trust with your credit card business now? I really would like to hear from people on this.
I canceled my Chase card in August for similar lousy customer relations practices and really high pressure sales techniques. Yes, sooner or later (looks like later,) the suits will catch on, but only after it hits them hard right between the eyes. I'm not on twitter yet, but will be soon. The rules have changed for sure - for sure! ps - I love credit unions.
I have to admit I didn't value Twitter for quie a while. I also think it's a hard thing for many small/medium sized businesses to operate effectively and make genuine headway with.
Managing your brand on twitter is extremely difficult and on Facebook to some extent, although it can be moderated slightly better here. I use Ubervu to find out where our brand has been mentioned and what people think about it. Anything negative I usually react to openly in a positive way and try to deal with the situation. Crisis management is an essential part of Social Media and shouldn't be ignored.
It has to be said, a lot of people didnt think too much of twitter for a while in the early days. Now I think business have to take note of the power and marketing tool it really is!
A good way to get your brand rated as we have been finding in recent times is through online retailer review websites. If you are in the e-commerce game get people to voice what they think of the product and / or service it is you sell and then use this to your advantage. This is the downside of trading online, and for us this has been our feedback tool of choice. This may not however be the same for eveyone! SEO_Exp (Search Engine News)SEO Egghead Inc. Blog ยป Twitter vs. Capital One's Reputation … http://tinyurl.com/nbg2ll
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