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Freaky Fast or Too Fat to Fly? 3 Easy Steps to Reputation Management

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In the age of social media, customers are able to speak up louder than ever before. With the use of Twitter, Facebook, and Blogging, your company’s reputation can be damaged in a matter of seconds. This leaves every company with two options: be perfect, or learn how to handle social media criticism. CEO’s and employees are only human (yes I know that is a hard concept to grasp), and therefore they are entitled to make a few mistakes. However, it is imperative that every customer complaint or criticism through social media is immediately acknowledged with the following:
     •A sincere apology
     •Admit you were wrong, and offer to address the customer’s complaint
     •State how you are handling the issue and offer another sincere apology
One company that does a fantastic job with handling their reputation through social media is Jimmy John’s. Known as the “freaky fast” sandwich company, Jimmy John’s has a lot to live up to. In order to make certain that their customers are happy and each franchise is doing its job correctly, they offer a Facebook page where their customers’ voices can be heard. I’ve seen many complaints on this page and within hours Jimmy John’s apologizes, finds out the franchise location to show they are acknowledging the issue, and they usually even ask the customer to send their address to facebook@jimmyjohns.com so they can follow up with them personally.

Since every situation is different, what you offer your customer in the event of a complaint will vary. For Jimmy John’s it could be anything from a free sandwich, soda, gift card, or maybe even a t-shirt with their logo. This proves to the customer that they are your main priority and you are sincerely sorry they had a bad experience.
On the other hand if your company does not know how to handle social media it will certainly back fire. Lets recall the Kevin Smith and Southwest Airline incident. Basically, the filmmaker Kevin Smith was asked by Southwest Airlines to un-board his flight because he was causing discomfort to other passengers. Furious, Kevin Smith began a twitter storm claiming that Southwest Airlines told him he was “too fat to fly.” Within a matter of seconds, Kevin’s 1.6 million Twitter Followers found out what was happening and began to chirp in. Southwest Airlines finally acknowledged this Twitter storm, but how they handled the situation was debatable.

Southwest Airlines tweeted back an apology to Kevin Smith, but many people debate if it was truly sincere. They do not admit any wrongdoing or state how they went about handling this situation. This incident most definitely had an effect on this company’s reputation. Personally, I think they should have advertised offering Kevin Smith a free seat for future use.
So remember: everyone is human and we all make mistakes, but it is how you handle your mistakes that depict your company’s reputation. For your company’s sake, make sure you know how to handle your presence in social media!