How social media helped Westjet handle a torrent of complaints

When an unannounced system change had customers wailing, the airline soared on Facebook and Twitter.

When an unannounced system change had customers wailing, the airline soared on Facebook and Twitter

Perhaps worse than that, its customers had no advance notice that anything would be changing.

Soon after the Canadian low-cost airline made the system switch—and having neglected to prepare its followers with advisories on Facebook and Twitter—a crisis set in:

Westjet had to address their customers’ concerns, so they went where the bulk of the complaints were—on social media channels.

As a customer, “you’re going to go online. You’re going to e-mail, you’re going to tweet, and you’re going to Facebook,” said Greg Hounslow, Westjet’s advisor of emerging media. “That’s exactly what happened. A lot of people went on to our social media channels and talked to us about it.”

In a presentation at the Ragan Corporate Communicators Conference, Hounslow discussed how social networks became vital to its customer service, especially for addressing a deluge of complaints.

“A complaint is an opportunity to showcase your problem-solving and communication skills,” he said.

Responses in real time

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