One of the most surprising things to emerge from the social media juggernaut, is how quickly platforms such as Facebook and Twitter are becoming the number one choice for customers to connect with their supplier. Not only are businesses providing a treasure trove of free and valuable content through their online media, they have quickly learnt that it is a new and preferred avenue for many of their customers and prospects to connect with them. I recently discovered the power of customer service via social media myself while planning a trip to Tasmania. A couple weeks before we were due to leave I needed to organise car hire, so I duly searched through the various well-known car rental companies online trying to compare the prices to get the best value. Through my searches I found an all-in-one car rental company called Vroom Vroom Vroom. This handy site compares all the top car rentals in one spot, most at discounted prices. So I quickly made my choice, put through an online order and was very pleased that another job had been ticked off the holiday-to-do list. I didn’t think about the car hire again until the day before we were due to leave. After checking though my Inbox several times, I couldn’t seem to find my confirmation email with all the booking details. I was stumped – had I deleted it by accident? Maybe there was some technical hitch I couldn’t think of? What a pain, I’m going to have to go though the hassle of contacting via email or calling up. So I clicked onto Vroom’s Contact Us page on their website, and there, next to the email address link was another link asking you to contact them through their Facebook wall – so I did. I quickly put up one-liner about my lost confirmation email giving details of when we were picking up the car and, to my surprise, I immediately I got a reply! After a couple of swift interactions on their wall, my confirmation email arrived safe and sound into my Inbox – the whole saga was resolved in less than half an hour with very little work from me. Plus I did it all through my iPhone! What a joy not to have to call up, hanging on the line waiting for ‘the next available operator’ or typing out a long email and waiting up to 24 hours for a reply. My problem was resolved almost instantaneously. This is the sort of customer service consumers are now expecting. Instant reaction within minutes rather than hours or days. Businesses are very much aware of the public-ness of a company profile and the need to react quickly – especially if there’s a customer complaint. I wanted to share this experience as it’s a great example of how businesses are engaging quickly and efficiently through social media – basically hanging out where their customers hang out. Good for business – great for customer satisfaction. Is your business engaging with customers through social media yet? If so, I would love to hear how it’s working for your business – please feel free to reply below.