Twitter’s new customer service tool aims to take your rant somewhere quieter

If you’re the type of Twitter user who enjoys using the platform to sound off about businesses and customer experiences, the social media site’s latest changes could affect you.

No, it’s not going to knock you off the platform for vociferously complaining about whatever services you’re unhappy with. Instead, it wants to make it easier for you to communicate with the company concerned.

The first change involves the inclusion of a “send a private message” link in tweets from businesses that are responding to your initial post, whether you were complaining, making a request, or – if you ever do such a thing – offering praise. Tapping on the link allows the conversation to continue in a private area (ie. as direct messages) where personal details can be exchanged, if necessary. Of course, it also gives the company a better shot at moving your rant – if you’re having one – from the platform’s very public arena.

“Direct Messages are a great way for customers to have a private conversation with a business,” Twitter product manager Ian Cairns wrote in a blog post introducing the feature. “Customer service conversations often start in tweets, but then need to transition to a private channel when personal information is required. We’re making that transition as easy as a single click.”

Customer feedback

Twitter is also in the process of rolling out a customer feedback tool that lets users easily rate a business or service following an interaction.

“Care teams have told us they love the open-ended feedback they get from people via tweets and direct messages, but they also need the ability to survey customers in a structured way to better measure and improve their service experience,” Cairns said.

Offered initially to select brands, the new tool lets businesses use two industry-standard question formats – Net Promoter ScoreSM (NPS®) and Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) – to obtain feedback from those who use their services. Set questions will appear in tweets for the customer to answer, providing the business with useful data about its work.

According to Twitter, “millions” of customer service-related interactions happen every month through its platform, with the site accounting for more than 80 percent of some businesses’ inbound social customer service requests.

And Twitter isn’t the only one keen to get brands on board and more integrated into its service. Facebook Messenger is also working to make it easier for businesses and users to contact one another, while similar plans are in the pipeline for Facebook-owned WhatsApp, too.