Check out this Facebook page: Qantas
Yes, it does not look bad now, but about a week ago it was a lot worst.
A shrine of hatred, close to 95,000 fans and person after person writing comments regarding how horrible the service is, the problems they are having relating to tickets and relating to the latest advertising campaign 'New Spirit'.
And no reply from Qantas.
This was a little surprising seeing as I have them seen them as a an active Twitter user.
So what should be done?
To be quite honest, I am stumped. I posted this on the MKF3881 forum to which Wags asked me:
Because I had no idea.
But I figured now I will put it out to the audience, what would you do if you were in Qantas' position?
Here is what I think they could do:
Option 1
Cut your losses. Delete the page and start fresh. Like Wags said in the lecture, brands should enter this domain with great caution. I don't think they listened or experimented with it. Social media is a long term commitment. Once you've joined up you can't just abandon ship, and leave things to manifest. As much as a brand has no control over what the customer says, they still have the opportunity to defend themselves in the public sphere.
The only problem I see with this is that Qantas is then abandoning close to 95,000 fans. Those people aren't going to go seek the Qantas fan page again because they have assumed they were already a fan.
So this is probably not a viable option.
Option 2
They can just ignore everything that has occurred in the past and just concentrate on any new comments. So engaging with the 'fans'starting from this point. I think that at this point, all those who have not heard back from Qantas can be treated as a lost cause.
Option 3
Go back to the beginning of Qantas Facebook time and reply to everyone.
Of the three options, I think the second is the most realistic.
I don't think that Qantas really knew what they were getting themselves into. They probably just jumped on the bandwagon purely for the sake of remaining current.
Social media is not something that can be checked once a day. It needs constant 24/7 monitoring to ensure that all customers have their queries or complaints tended to. Most of the answers I saw on this fan page were quick, automated responses telling the customer to send their complaint to an address and that it may take a couple of weeks to reply.
No. These people are venting via Facebook as it is the easiest means to get their point across. If they wanted to place their complaint via that other forum then they would have. They want a response then and there and to be told to go somewhere else and leave it at that is not it.
Conversations need to be held with these people and that is not happening. Maybe the more serious complaints regarding refunds or lost baggage should be referred to other people, but yeah.
I tried to Google how one would fix something like this, but could not find anything.
So what do you think? Let me know!!
September 14, 2011 at 9:32 AM
Facebook fan pages are a tough job to manage. You open your company up to often negative comments regarding service & quality of products. This can indicate that there are issues with your company that need resolving. However, the way negative feedback is provided is often without situation context, and usually very biased. Yes, you should listen, and respond to the feedback. However, the customers do need to lodge their issues through the right channels if they really want to be heard.
Start respond to your customers Qantas, otherwise you're just asking for trouble. Point your customers with major concerns to the right feedback forum (form or phone number). Yes it may seem overwhelming now, but it will assist greatly in long term customer retention.
September 14, 2011 at 2:29 PM
Well done, Lynh... thanks for spending the time thinking and responding. I appreciate it.
Yes, it's an incredibly difficult situation for Qantas. I agree with you, deleting the site would be a disaster, losing all of those "fans". But ignoring them is also a problem.
Maybe, as @M says, they just need to make an effort to begin to respond to some of the complaints. This will send a signal to very one, even those that don't get a direct response, that they DO care.
Maybe they just didn't give things much though before they launched on Facebook?
What do others think?
September 16, 2011 at 11:34 AM
There's needs to be some form of a public apology... and communication of what is being done to resolve the issues... perhaps real time updates through Social Media of the steps that are being taken so that people feel like they've been heard and that something is being done.
Hire people to manage Social Media full time too... if cupcake shop owners and nights clubs can do it, I don't see how a company as big as Qantas can't.
September 17, 2011 at 10:03 PM
I think its them realising it too late and not knowing how to approach the whole thing.
I can't remember what class it was, but it had a kpmg reading where it said companies should approach it with caution, they should listen and know how to use it before actually jumping in!
September 17, 2011 at 10:06 PM
Yep - that was in the readings for week 5! :)