Highlighting poor customer service is something which the internet accommodates very well, see Wadds’ blog for his experiences with Hotel Chocolat and Excess Baggage. I experienced something similar this week in relation to BT Broadband. Yesterday, following a tweet by the BBC’s Rory Cellan-Jones about an article he was writing on BT Broadband speeds, I got in touch with him and we spoke about my experiences and problems. Rory included my comments in his article published today, and BT reacted very quickly with their Head of Media soon getting in touch to try and look into my broadband issues. This afternoon things were escalated further when Radio 1 picked up the BBC story and asked me to provide a sound-bite on the issue for Radio 1′s Newsbeat – an email from the assistant to BT’s Chairman and CEO soon followed.

This is a great example of how complaint resolution is quickly escalated when it is taken to the right platform. BT are quite rightly keen to disperse any negative commentary on their products and their speedy response was on the button. Obviously it’s not possible to take every complaint to such a public arena, but the principle remains, the internet is a platform where you can share your views, good or bad. Sensible brands will be monitoring things to open up conversation and ultimately resolve any problems, other brands won’t and the will suffer as a result.

By conincidence, we are currently working with Disputer.com, the free online complaints service which has been developed to ensure consumers receive the right advice and services to help them get what they are entitled to. The site walks users through the entire complaints process to provide the best possible chance of resolution, a useful tool for getting the attention of the right people.