Twitter-er (An Apology)

Okay, I admit it. At the moment I am still a Twitter novice. I am not entirely certain how to use it to its fullest, nor do I go out and check it as often as I probably should. And That is a shame as I discovered this morning that had I done so, I would have noticed that Qwest (my internet and phone provider) apparently uses it more than I do.

I am not entirely shore how they did this, but they responded to a blog posting (from here on don sees the world - July 01, 2010) only a couple hours after I posted it! Here's a transcript of the exchange:

TalkToQwest Jul 01, 1:18pm via TweetDeck
@DonBergquist Hello, I'm sorry about the delay w/your svc, if you'll email talktous@qwest.com w/bill phone#/address I'll see if I can help

DonBergquist: don sees the world: Well, This Does Not Bode Well! - They have yet to install my internet service and Qwest has alre... http://ow.ly/17XI5W 12:33pm, Jul 01 from HootSuite

TalkToQwest: @DonBergquist Hello, I'm sorry about the delay w/your svc, if you'll email talktous@qwest.com w/bill phone#/address I'll see if I can help 1:18pm, Jul 01 from TweetDeck

So, I suppose that I owe Qwest an apology. If you look at the time stamps on the conversation, even though I didn't address my blog posting to them, and even though it didn’t go to their inbox directly, they responded in less than an hour with an offer to set things right.

I have long been a person who was willing to complain when things didn't go as they should, or people (or companies) didn't perform to the expectations. But I have equally, or more so, been a person who believes in giving credit where it is due. (I was in customer support at my last company long enough that people who are quick to complain rarely give credit where it is due and swore to always be effusive in the praise I offer.)

So, cheers! Qwest! Good job! Perhaps if I checked my Twitter-feed more often I would have spotted this and taken you up on your offer!

Now, I know that what might have happened here was that some spider has been programmed to watch for references to Qwest on the web, look for the presence of words that look like it may indicate a complaint, and issue a generic email to the source offering assistance. But that does not diminish the affect; it shows me that they care enough about what is going on at least enough that they have set-up a program to watch for complaints and offer a solution. That is still better than my old internet provider! So kudos, Qwest on a good customer service move!

Wherever you are today, I hope that you experience at least one piece of outstanding support!

Don Bergquist – July 14, 2010 – Lakewood, Colorado, USA