Some folks get it… and some they don’t

So since I started getting on this social media bandwagon, I’ve been really paying attention to how companies interact with the public.  Especially on Twitter. I have run into a few different experiences that I thought I would document that really highlight the difference between those companies that ‘get it’ and those that don’t.

It was my wifes birthday last week.  The kids and I decided we would take her out to one of our favourite restaurants, The Melting Pot over on the south side of the city. We were pretty excited and I thought I would check out their social media prowess. So I sent a tweet something to the effect of

Taking my wife out for a birthday dinner to @meltingpotedm

Off we went for our dinner.  Now you need to understand we have been to the Melting Pot about 8 times in the 18 months or so that it has been open. The whole family really enjoys it. Unfortunately this visit was less than stellar. Our server was extremely friendly and attentive, but screwed up on the kids initial order. By the time we got to dessert the service had really gone downhill. My wife’s coffee order came out when we were just about finished the dessert. The dessert portions were smaller than usual and we were missing a some favourite dippers. It was nothing substantial but not a fantastic experience.

So the next day after I get to work I receive a tweet from @meltingpotedm:

How was it? We hope that you had a great time and thanks for spending the special occasion with us!

So I responded and the conversation looked like this:

@meltingpotedm good. Service fell apart a little at the end. Dessert prtns have dwindled since r 1st visit. was r 8th visit since u opened

@axiommike Sorry to hear! Referring to Chocolate or Dippers for the dessert? I’d like to look into this – thanks 4 the heads up!

@meltingpotedm dippers. think was 1 off. Marshmallows were plain, no oreo or graham cracker crumbs :0( & slow with wifes Latte #allgood ;0)

@axiommike Sounds like u received a Gluten Free dessert plate (mallows served plain). Thx for the info – will follow up with kitchen!

Notice how my tone changed after even the initial acknowledgement?  When I sat down and thought about how I felt Tuesday morning prior to this exchange about the dinner, compared to how I felt after the exchange. Wow, what a difference. Obviously they could do nothing to actually change my experience but just by acknowledging the experience they completely altered my take away from that dinner. Well done @meltingpotedm!  If you do get the opportunity to go I would highly recommend. After all they are 7 for 8 in my book and those stats aren’t bad by my standards.

Contrast that with my Twitter experience with @goodlifefitness. One of the things I find extremely frustrating with many of the fitness clubs of days gone by are the hard sell techniques to gain members. My wife used to work at a few as a personal trainer and witnessed some of these behaviors first hand.  She is not a fan of these tactics.

Late last week she happened to be out on some errands with our 8 year old daughter and happened to be passing by the new Goodlife Fitness club. She is interested in seeing what kind of classes they have to offer and what a membership vs. drop in fees might be. Well of course they would not give her any information until she made an appointment to have a full orientation. She was not impressed. So when we discussed the experience at dinner, I suggested that I would tweet at them her experience and see what kind of response we received.

@GoodLifeFitness wife just popped in #shpklocation while out with daughter. Looking 4 membership info. Can’t without full tour#annoyed

Well, this will be a short story… We received NO response. I honestly do not understand why companies put themselves out there on Twitter if they are not prepared to respond to customers. Maybe I’m expecting too much, but I think if you have a corporate Twitter account you have an obligation to respond to it. Your thoughts?