I’ve been going through Seth Godin’s book, Linchpin. Last night, I came across a story of a guy named Frank and how he single-handedly changed the perception of Comcast simply by being human and interacting with angry folks on Twitter. I thought I’d share Frank’s story as told by Seth, after sharing yesterday’s positive social media interaction with the folks at Assembly.
Frank figured out that angry customers were ofen using Twitter to vent their rage about Comcast and their service or lack thereof.
One day, Frank tweeted back.
He showed up. Not because it was in the manual or because someone told him to, but because he wanted to help. It was a gift, not his job. Frank was honestly interested in connecting, and his generosity came through.
And you know what happened? The tweeters rejoiced. They were so stunned that a real person (with a name!) was listening that they instantly became fans. In less than a minute, they were converted from enemies and trolls into raving fans.
That’s how desperately we want to be touched by another person. That’s how much the gift of attention from a person means to us.
I can’t agree enough with the last sentence. When a waitor smiles at you and brings you extra napkins before you even ask for it or refills your drink before you reach the bottom, don’t you tend to tip them a little more than normal? Or a sales person at a store, seeing you with your kid, shares a story about their own kid and you have a laugh over something funny or cute they did. Aren’t you more willing to purchase from them?
Listen, smile, be human. It can change the way customers see your business. Thanks Frank for the reminder.
