I must tell you all about Tweet power! Its very mention is so potent to get lethargic service departments of even big MNCs to move at triple quick speed!
Recently I took on the refrigerator company Godrej; I had got an AMC done way back in 2008 for which I was just given a receipt and the copy of the application I had filled out. I was told the AMC document would come to me directly from the company. The ‘friendly’ service dealer offered to follow up and see it came soon. A month after the stipulated date no document had come. So I called the dealer and he said I should talk to the head office to find out.
The person in-charge washed her hands off saying they had not received any communication. Making calls back and forth brought no result. Then I gave up, reasoning that I at least had the receipt for the amount paid and the service dealer would give service if required.
A year and half later, we had to move from that city and so began the battle again. I tried everything and finally used the brahmastra. I told the regional service manager that if they didn’t do something pronto, I would tweet the matter and rubbish the company. And viola! In half an hour an executive lands at my house with a fresh application offering an extra six months warranty! (Wonder what I would have done had he dared me!)
“I am in the middle of packing and I can’t wait for your document to come,” I snarled.
“We will post it anywhere you want,” he offered.
With ill grace I filled the form not expecting any response thereafter. But I had underestimated Tweet power! Within a week I got an SMS giving me the service contract number followed by a call saying that they were couriering the document in a couple of days! So folks, to make a long story short, I got first the scanned document by email and then the physical document the next day!
The threat worked for Tatasky too, which did not respond for 4 days after giving a request to reinstall the dish after we shifted. I told them very sweetly that I was calling another service provider if the work was not done in two hours and that it would be flashed on all social media forums! 😀 The guys knocked on the door in 30 minutes flat!
For someone who is not on Twitter and who has only a vague idea of the working of the medium, I have extracted full mileage out of it, haven’t I? Boy, am I excited!
But wait, what is this ‘study’ I read about which says that 68% youth wants Twitter to close its doors to the oldies? I can understand if the reason is that they don’t want their elders to know what they are up to! But just barring them from it because they can’t talk funky? That’s bad, bad. Also I would like to know how many youth were contacted for the ‘survey’, please. For all you know, the reporter might have interviewed the teens in his building and extrapolated the findings!
The Cybernag 
Go twitter go twittter 😀
u shud now atleast start using twitter… 😀
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when i can get my work done by just mentioning it, why should I bother? 🙂
Well, may be I should…..
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Ahhh…my mom’s rant packaged in a slightly different way. Unlike your lads, we are two radical girls. Mom is the buffer, but Dad gets the admiration. Mom does all the dirty work for us – getting us the mandatory permissions (even now for me..;) but at the end of the day, she gets squeezed silently. She is the one who gets excited about the little things in life, Dad does not even know half the time..But then she’s the one who gets to hear our choicest lines too…Awww..you poor moms..We love you, more than our Dads..(although we might be happy to be called Daddy’s girls)
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Nice to see your dazzling smile grace the comments column Journomuse aka Deepthy! and today I have a bonanza — 3 smiling faces! you have made my day! 🙂 Don’t worry all your comments are here ‘sahi salamat.’
I know all about daddy’s girls and boys and psst…moms don’t mind it at all! We know that ultimately it us they come to when they need some ‘friendly persuasion’ to get their way, whether taking the car out or some such request that might elicit a vociferous ‘no’ from their fathers! And we know how to call in the favour, so beware! Let this be a warning to Vinni that it is not going to be just doughnuts……..he he
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ha ha, that is nice. I usually use sentences like “will post comments about your service in moutshut.com” but it does not work all the time. Good strategy, keep it up.
By the way, since I am following you, your latest blog posting notice came up on my post but i cant find it here. the heading is “Then and Now”; it seems as though your blog posting has acquired some intelligence of its own and has relegated itself only to “then” and the “now” has bowed itself out. :-))
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You too? 😀 We do know how to maximize the effects of social media, don’t we?
So sorry, Sharbori. That was a goof-up due to a WP tantrum! I changed the title just in case. So read and comment please!
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Really surprising that twitter has struck fear in the hearts of these service providers….In this age of marketing all that matters is the image of the company, no wonder they take it seriously…..but i Betya in government companies things still get done at a snail’s pace and they don’t care about no twitter 😉
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It was the height of the IPL row and so it must have scared them to act! after Tharoor’s tweets and his subsequent exit, even the govt. agencies might act for all you know! 🙂
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Now that’s power! As getting the oldies off Twitter, in the UK the most popular Tweeter is Stephen Fry with 1,573,705 followers and rising. He’s 53.
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Yeah, isn’t it! Here too. Amitabh Bachchan, the golden oldie who is the superstar of Hindi films has a fan following that is the envy of those half his age or less! Get us off the forum, indeed! 😛
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You are very smart…I should be taking lessons from you 😀
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He he thanks for the compliment!
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Nice trick to get things fixed!. TWITTER POWER!, Seems Vinni D pooh Has an ultimate mum. She not only writing blogs but also utilizes it for good purposes!.
n yeah i I read it on paper ,oldies boycotted from twitter!!!l still whatever it will be… ppl will follow them…
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…and all without actually being on the forum:D Now THAT is smart, right?
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Yup, You got Brains!
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Go MaMa go!
Tweet power rocks!
What survey? Im 28, no one contacted me! 🙂
I also use twitter a lot to ‘fix’ deficiency in Service!
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Welcome back, Ketan! Twitter might rock, but you don’t understand! I use the Twitter threat without actually even being on the forum! 😀 Now THAT is what i call the power. BTW, do you use also Twitter the same way to fix service problems? 😀
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this is cool…wow..you have given me a wonderful idea 🙂
I have seen the power of twitter at work in USA against the MNC’S, never knew it works in India too…
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The tactic might not have worked had these been just Indian companies, I guess. but the fact that Godrej has merged with GE and Tata with Sky mean that some of the MNC culture must have rubbed off on them. anyway, the trick did work at least this time! 🙂
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Haha, surveys conclude what they have been asked to conclude. 🙂 And as a reporter who got the necessary voxpops along the needed lines, I can attest that. But must say, I have been guilty of dissuading my father off facebook coz I haven’t been sure of how erratic my friends would be, didn’t want my ‘double life’ exposed. Tweet power…try toh karna padega..never tried using it as a blackmail tool before..:)
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You are one honest girl, Journomuse, or can I call you by your real name? 🙂 So, I caught you youngsters out, didn’t I? Actually we are all not that naive to believe our offspring are not naughty at times, but yes, I understand your hesitancy (and also that of my boys!:)) to allow us oldies to join the club, so to speak!
Blackmail tool! Perish the thought. just using some ‘strong persuasion’, if you please 😀
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