From Anger to Assurance: The Power of Twitter and Customer Service

Anyone who follows me on Twitter will know that I blew off some steam yesterday regarding Technorati.  Beginning on Wednesday night, I began the process for claiming this blog.  All signs pointed to a simple process, one that would be completed in a matter of minutes – pushing my blog into the Technorati universe.  What ensued was anything but simple, and instead got me pretty riled up.

Every time I entered my URL, the Technorati system would give me a different error.  Sometimes it said that my URL couldn’t be accessed.  Other times it told me that my URL was flagged.  Then, blessedly, I made it past step 1 and my URL was recognized early Thursday afternoon.  Then step 2 involved placing the verification code on the site.  I complied, but when I attempted to proceed – the same cycle repeated.  Every time I submitted the approval, I received a different error.

In my anger, and relative haste, I performed some searches on Google and Technorati’s help sections.  I didn’t see anything that explained what was happening.  I then updated Twitter:

After a night on the town (well not really, I just went to the local cineplex and watched the new Star Trek flick), I returned home to find a Twitter reply:

As it turns out, @dorion works at Technorati and apparently is actively monitoring Twitter for anyone talking about his company.  In my case, I made an ass of myself calling out a company like Technorati.  As far as @dorion is concerned, he’s providing great customer service.  To my dismay, he’s been tweeting about a major server change at Technorati – one that is effecting everything… including the blog claim process.

I’ve read over and over again about people having positive customer service experiences on Twitter, but this is the first time it’s happened to me.  And I’m grateful.  I also learned a few lessons.

1. Don’t jump to conclusions (duh, right?).  There is always an underlying cause to a problem, and in many cases they’re quite understandable.
2. Use Twitter Search (double-duh, right?).  If I had searched Twitter Search instead of Google or even Technorati’s help section, I would’ve found @dorion’s tweets, followed him right then and there and moved on with my day instead of making an ass of myself.

Kudos to @dorion and Technorati for making the attempt to keep unsatisfied customers in the loop via Twitter.  And kudos to all the other companies doing the same.  My blog still hasn’t been claimed officially with Technorati, but I have an open support ticket and new-found patience with the process!