How Hashtags, @mentions, and FedEx Work Together: Customer Service in the Twitter-verse

FedEx Customer Service Twitter reps:
@FedExAl
@FedExDolores
@FedExGracie
@FedExLaSheila
@FedExLina
@FedExRobin

Blog post by Sheila Harrell FedEx Vice President of Customer Service Operations

It’s been a while since I’ve blogged as we’ve been busy working on ways to enhance our service to customers.  I also have been busy with my  teenager who keeps me current with a cliff notes version of all things cool in the world – from a 13 year-old’s perspective. 
 
Speaking of cool things, I just have to share with you something that happened in Customer Service Operations (CSO) recently. We have a team of five reps in our Dallas Call Center who spend the better part of their day watching blog sites.  They are primarily looking for opportunities to turn negative posts about FedEx into positive ones.  About a year ago, @FedExRobin (that’s really one of our Twitter Reps’, or “tweeter’s” names!) caught the attention of renowned author, Marsha Collier.  Some of you may recognize Marsha’s name as she has written several of the “… for Dummies” books. Marsha was so impressed by FedEx Robin that she devoted a chapter to FedEx in her latest book, “The Ultimate Online Customer Service Guide”. 
 
So, we decided to invite Marsha to the Dallas Call Center on Tuesday, April 19th to meet FedEx Robin in person!  More than 300 team members representing several FedEx operating companies were in attendance at the afternoon event. Marsha Collier and Ginna Sauerwein, FedEx Managing Director, spoke to the group about the impact social media has had on customer service.
 
In case you didn’t know, about a year and a half ago, FedEx made the decision to engage customers in the social media space because that is where many of our customers were conversing. I am so glad we did!  Our Twitter Reps have been able to help many customers who would have never called us the old fashion way! 
 
Let me give you a recent example.  Remember the launch of the iPhone 4 last summer? By coincidence, the day we began delivering them, fedex.com was experiencing delays in posting package tracking information, even though shipments were being delivered on time. Once word got out that the new phones were supposed to be on their way, the blogosphere exploded!  And… so did the number of calls from iPhone fanatics who were looking for that delivery!  Because of our social media presence, we were able to post a message explaining the situation. Within minutes the message went viral and the chaos subsided.  Cool. Very cool. That day, we learned that the power of social media can have a dramatic and positive effect on customer service. 
 
So… I hope everyone will join the thousands of followers the FedEx Blog Response Unit (BRU, for short) in Dallas has – if you haven’t already! It’s just one more way that FedEx serves its customers’ needs!

via blog.fedex.designcdt.com

 

I had a wonderful time at FedEx, the employees are really happy to to work there and they want to share their passion for customer service to all! Sheila and @FedExRobin have become good friends!