Andrew Grill and Will Sturgeon have both discussed all that is wrong with the article at length.

But Lewis could have found an example much closer to home of a company that uses web analytics to track and monitor visits online. A quick discussion with my Twitter network finds that The Daily Mail itself is a hardcore user of web analytics.

Thanks to Andrew Smith and Tim Hoang for their insight.

Update: More here from Smith.

As corporate Twitter accounts tend to be managed by several staff members, recipients have no idea who is running the account and responding to their tweets.

The new feature will allow companies to tag tweets with the name of the person wrote the Tweet.

The feature appends the contributor’s username to the tweet byline, making the business to consumer communication more personal; e.g. if @Twitter invites @Biz to tweet on its behalf, then a tweet from @Twitter would include @Biz in the byline so that users know more about the real people behind organizations.

The service develops the concept launched by CoTweet in August and as Twitter seeks to commercialise its business it’s a service for which business would be willing to pay.

In the last 48 hours I’ve polled internet retailers to find out whether they have contingency plans in place for the national postal strike.

I asked a dozen brands using Twitter IDs sourced directly or via e-consultancy: @amazon; @CDWOWUK; @espares; @figleaveshome; @firebox; @grazedotcom; @Hotel_Chocolat; @lovefilm; @maplintweet; @overheardatmoo; @playcom; and @waterstonesltd.

I’ve had four responses from @espares, @figleaveshome, @firebox and @lovefilm. @mat_henton from espares deserves special praise. He responded within minutes.

It’s hardly exhaustive or scientific survey (a bit like real life) but it shows that a handful of internet retailers are making extraordinary efforts to use Twitter as a channel and tackle the impending postal strike.

Equally others are using Twitter as a broadcast channel or have work to do to put contingency plans in place for the postal strike.

I actually spoke to seven people, over the period of five calls and navigated 15 IVR “trees” (push 1 etc), but I was still no closer to a resolution.

In the end Andrew’s problem was solved efficiently by a live chat session via the BT web site. He speculates that in five years time customer care centres will have fewer people on the phone and more using online channels.

It would almost certainly deliver a better customer experience and be more cost effective to the business.

Flickr-user Helen Flynn and I have both purchased rugged CAT suitcases that have failed. Helen found my Flickr post after searching for CAT’s online customer support.

My case was replaced quickly when I posted an image on Flickr and contacted the retailer Excess Baggage. Hopefully Helen’s also be replaced now that we’ve shared our experiences.

Two lessons:

• as a consumer it is always worth completing reviews and using online channels and social media to share good and bad experience; and,
• brands must monitor web channels to spot early signs of customer issues kicking off.

It’s an abuse of power that shouldn’t be warranted of course, but now the web has provided internet savvy consumers with the same audience and as a result authority in seeking retribution for customer complaints. I’ve had two experiences recently where sharing my complaints with people in my social network combined with direct action has resulted in an incredibly quick resolution.

Last week I posted a photo on Flickr of a Caterpillar suitcase with a broken zip that I’d bought a week earlier from Excess Baggage at Heathrow Terminal 5. Including a link to the photo in an email to Excess Baggage resulted in the offer of an instant replacement where calls to the shop had failed.

On Valentines Day Hotel Chocolat failed to deliver chocolates to my wife and daughters. It later transpired that the blame lay with the courier that Hotel Chocolat used but two ranting tweets later and a letter of compliant to the managing director resulted in a partial refund and placatory gifts for the ladies in my life.

Thank you Excess Baggage and Hotel Chocolat. Not only will I continue to use your products and services, but I’ll tell all my mates how great you were at exceeding my expecations in dealing with problems.

Conversations about a company’s products and services are taking place in networks and smart organisations are listening and taking action. Social media isn’t just a means of promotion but it’s also a powerful customer relations mechanism.

ps. Steve Earl posted a blog rant about media directory publisher Hollis four days ago and its sales techniques. See: Hollis – hopeless (and humilating). He’s still not had a response.