Dooce vs. Maytag
Celebrity blogger Heather Armstrong's broken washing machine, and the power of Twitter
As Dooce blogger Heather Armstrong proved, getting a repairman is a snap—if you have a million followers on Twitter.
(Corbis)
Maytag has just learned a lesson about customer service, the hard way, said Mitch Wagner in InformationWeek. Heather B. Armstrong, who writes the popular parenting blog Dooce, shelled out $1,300 for a high-end washing machine—complete with service plan—and it promptly broke. After frustrating encounters with repairmen and customer service, Armstrong urged her 1-million-plus Twitter followers not to buy Maytag appliances, and Whirlpool, which owns Maytag, dispatched someone to fix the machine within a day.
Maytag's lesson was about the power of celebrity—not the power of Twitter, said Michele McGinty in BeliefNet. I don't have a million Twitter followers, so I'd never be able to make the "hoopla" Heather Armstrong used to get Maytag to act, and to get an offer of a free washing machine from a competing company. "I'd be stuck waiting for the repairman just like everyone else"—which is why I'll never buy a $1,300 washing machine from Maytag now.
So, the question is, said Anna Viele in ABDPBT Personal Finance, did Heather B. Armstrong abuse her superstar status by broadcasting her complaint to Dooce fans on Twitter, just to get her washing machine fixed? Other real-world celebrities "go on Twitter and bitch about brands." Then again, it's hard to feel sorry for a giant corporation that can't respond promptly to its customers.
The sad fact is that talking to a customer service department one-on-one often doesn't work, said Farhad Manjoo in Slate. "The companies seem to notice something's gone wrong only after you broadcast your complaint to the world" via Twitter. So whether you're Heather Armstrong or Jane Doe, "you'd be a fool not to reach for your keyboard when a company gives you the runaround."
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21 Comments
Posted by Bill, Wednesday, September 2, 2009, 12:37 pm This works for noncelebrities as well. I was having major issues with my iNet provider. I got way faster service within minutes after commenting on twitter and I have less than 100 followers. Companies take notice!
Posted by Mary, Wednesday, September 2, 2009, 7:51 pm I have gotten almost instant responses from companies after tweeting about service. I also have gotten lots of thank you's from companies after I send tweets re: positive experiences. In a one on one call with a customer service rep they seem to feel like they can treat you however they please but once you've got something on your blog or twitter out there for everyone to see they realize they look bad in front of the entire internet.
Posted by Fisher, Thursday, September 3, 2009, 7:44 pm viva the revolution!
Posted by Jennifer , Friday, September 4, 2009, 2:14 pm Makes me think of the now famous United Breaks Guitar song and YouTube video. Heather's popularity did help her, but if large companie were not using social media, chances are, they would not have noticed or responded. Have you read a corporate media twitter? It's one long apology! It's sorry for this sorry for that, it's almost comical.
Posted by laffin@bill, Monday, September 7, 2009, 8:00 am i highly doubt that Bill
Posted by Brad, Monday, September 7, 2009, 8:05 am It does show the power in Twitter as a medium, a belonging network, in which people can communicate with each other in it's simplicity. But on a personal note, I'm glad she slammed Maytag as Whirlpool has destroyed my hometown economy. Really it was Maytag's poor executive management, but that's a long winded topic Screw them, step up or step out.
Posted by Jhn Davis, Monday, September 7, 2009, 8:13 am Wow, very cool stufff indeed privacyweb.pl.tc
Posted by Matt, Monday, September 7, 2009, 8:31 am Bah 1 million followers, whatever. Anyone who uses twitter knows that 75 of all followers are just robots anyway.
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