Twitter is many things to many people: Social gathering space, goofy video provider, and if you’re a woman or minority, it’s often a sewage treatment plant that has been filled with toxic waste and then set on fire. But for a lot of people, Twitter is where they go with customer service complaints. And now Twitter wants to make that easier for businesses.
According to Mashable, Twitter is about to offer a bunch of major changes to make sure customer service queries get answered. The site estimates that currently, four out of five responses go unanswered, which isn’t great. So:
Businesses on Twitter can now access several new features to publicly reveal how they interact with customers on the site. Starting Thursday, businesses can choose to display response time and hours of availability on their profiles. The direct message button has also been enlarged.
Companies can select a “provides support” indicator that appears when Twitter users are searching for a business’s account. That distinguishes which Twitter handles companies use for their own promotions compared to the ones that are dedicated to service.
It’s an interesting switch, and it tells us a bit about where Twitter sees itself going. The company has struggled with a multitude of issues over the past few years, not the least of which is figuring out how its own users, and corporate solutions is an interesting place for it to go. And if nothing else, you’ll know you’re tweeting your complaint to the right underpaid customer service rep.
(via Mashable)