Customer Service Gone Right?

Customer service. Two words that leave a bad taste in your mouth. And when you have one bad experience it becomes a rotten piece of fruit that has somehow ruined the whole bunch. But, in recent years, companies have decided to start listening to consumers (finally), wanting to make amends for their heinous customer “anti-service.” Companies have successfully turned to social media to turn that frown upside down because of its transparency and ease of connection to the general public. Customer service is one of the most important arms of any company and you don’t want to get caught up in negative press because someone on your team got it wrong. Sometimes, way wrong …

A Boy and His Tiger

Some companies have really succeeded in the social media approach to customer service. Once such company is Tampa International Airport. They stole show with their story about Hobbes the Tiger, a lost stuffed animal that a small passenger had left behind. This was a proactive experience where the airport decided to do whatever it took to make sure that child was able to get their beloved Hobbes back. But they didn’t just post “lost stuffed tiger” on social media. They created a narrative with the beloved tiger, essentially mirroring the original Calvin and Hobbes comics.

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Viral Success

Tampa International Airport shared these photos of Hobbes the Tiger taking part in daily activities with employees to their Facebook and Twitter pages and boy, did it take off and fast. In just a few days the story was featured on several news outlets, ultimately reaching over 3,000,000 followers with close to 115,000 likes and comments on Facebook and 78k impressions on Twitter (Big Adventure, n.d.). This kind of transparent, proactive example of customer service is what people like to see. Not only does it garner viral attention, but it gives us the warm and fuzzies, too.

This opportunity to showcase customer service was done with that “just right” vibe. Tampa International Airport didn’t make this story about themselves like a “look at me” moment, but rather they focused on the stuffed tiger’s family, opting to keep the story and subsequent attention simple and personal which encouraged other customers to share their own feel-good stories on social media and tagging @FlyTPA so Tampa International Airport could share in their positive experiences (Big Adventure, n.d.).

Do Better

As successful as this inadvertent marketing campaign was, I could see some improvements to how it was handled, especially with what we know now about social media best practices.

1. create a hashtags specifically for the stuffed tiger and customer service
2. create a twitter accounts – one for handling customer service and the other for positive customer stories
3. tease each photo of Hobbes the Tiger over a period of time rather than rolling it out all at once

The Takeaway

Businesses who take the initiative to improve their customer service focusing on consumer sentiment with user-generated content have exactly what they need to be a success. Social media lends itself to public transparency, allowing businesses to really capture the hearts of millions, ultimately selling feelings and experiences rather than products and services. While it may feel like a gamble, there is nothing to fear when taking your customer to your audiences, rather than waiting for them to come to you.

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Similar Tales

A year later, a similar tale popped up at a hotel in Ireland. A little girl lost her beloved stuffed bunny at Adare Manor Hotel in Adare, Co. Limerick, Ireland. The hotel shared photos of the bunny enjoying its stay at the hotel, indulging in spa treatments, afternoon tea, and the like. Adare Manor Hotel shared the photos over several days before it was shipped off to its owner. The hotel received double the amount of engagement on these posts and even a few news outlets picked up the story.

Adare Manor Hotel was so pleased with the public’s engagement they even got their own bunny mascot and shared photos of it enjoying the hotel using the hashtag #AdareManorBunny. What started as a cute customer service story turned into a lasting marketing tool. Now that is genius.

References
Tampa International Airport. (2021) In Facebook. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/FlyTPA
Tale of Tiger’s Big Adventure Highlights Airport’s Commitment to Customer Service (n.d.) Shorty Awards. Retrieved from https://shortyawards.com/8th/boy-leaves-stuffed-tiger-at-tpa-returns-to-a-tale-of-tigers-big-adventure-see-more-at-httpww
Adare Manor Hotel. (2021) In Facebook. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/FlyTPA