At Akita we love when companies look after their customers well. In the first of a two part series, we look at the Irish cable and broadband provider: UPC Ireland.

Keeping customers happy is a difficult task for cable companies. In the US, Comcast is the poster child for bad customer service but it doesn't have to be that way. Here are five lessons we can learn from UPC on how to effectively use social media to provide excellent customer service:

1. Maintain a Strong Presence on Social Media

UPC have a great presence on social media. Their Facebook page has over 77,000 likes and their Twitter account has over 19,000 followers and 40K Tweets. In addition to these primary channels, UPC actively maintains a presence on YouTube and the popular Irish discussion forum, Boards.ie.

2. Use a Single Twitter Account for Marketing AND Customer Service

UPC take responsibility for problems with their service, tackling them head-on. Often companies set up separate 'customer service' social media accounts so their marketing channel isn't flooded with negativity. UPC addresses negative comments in the same Twitter feed they use to market to new customers.

3. Keep Your Social Media Channels Current and Topical

UPC's social media pages are current, funny, and extremely useful. Rather than just new product offers and package deals, their social media pages contain interactive items such as the weekly giveaway and television programming notes. If you're like me and have never bought a TV guide, this is extremely useful.

4. Actively Monitor and Engage Over Social Media

UPC are ever present and available on their social media accounts. Their staff are available on social media seven days a week from 9am to 9pm. The team are constantly tweeting to ensure people's problems are solved. if you tweet them after hours (which I have) they respond to you first thing the morning after. Even if UPC can't send someone to fix the problem until Monday, it's nice to know that they are aware of it.

5. Be Professional at All Times

UPC do not rise to an argument. At times when customers are throwing abuse your way it is difficult not to react. UPC's team always does extremely well in these situations and keep their customers' best interests in mind. 

Compare this to Comcast. Have a listen to the phone call that earned Comcast the title of "Worst Customer Service in the World". The company's customer service handbook even defines how agents are instructed to deal (poorly) with customers.

 

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UPC may not be perfect—most companies aren't—but customer service is a department where UPC are performing well. They take responsibility for problems when they are alerted and are understanding of customer problems. I hope to not have any problems with my broadband connection but if I do I'm sure UPC will be very helpful as they have always been in the past.