BT Customer’s YouTube Rant December 2, 2007
Posted by paulprdixon in : PR in the UK, Social Media , trackbackBT came under scrutiny earlier this week when one of its frustrated customers posted a video complaint on YouTube.
And obviously it worked. Within days he had received a response from the office of BT chairman Sir Christopher Bland and a full refund which he rightfully deserved.
BT obviously did the right thing by sorting the mess out as soon as possible. But its reputation took a hit in the British news - especially the tabloids.
BT - Riding the storm
The Sun Newspaper - Britain’s leading tabloid - made it one of their top stories for the day (at least on-line) informing readers that after scores of letters and hours spent on hold or speaking to staff at the BT call centre in India, Mr Askins decided to grab the attention of the company - and its customers - by venting his rage on the video website. Consequentially, Mr Askins received preferential treatment from BT’s top brass.
YouTube stories are increasingly popular for newspapers as they add a further dimension: anyone reading online can just click straight through to the video post, if it isn’t already embedded like it was for this story. Also, even if you reading your morning papers the old-fashioned way the chances are your computer is not too far away. With YouTube stories, newspapers can offer more than words and pictures.
No matter how BT responded, they were always going to be heavily scrutinized in the media one way or the other given how ready-made the story was. But BT’s response didn’t help its cause, declining to comment to Sky News. And according to The Sun, BT apologised for the initial misunderstanding but claimed that its response was a result of direct correspondence with Mr Askins, rather than the YouTube clip. Even if this is true, this wasn’t the smartest move as the basic premise of the story was that BT responded because of Mr Askins’ YouTube rant. Now BT looks even more stupid. But they are not stupid – does BT really want all its angry customers complaining on YouTube seeking the same preferential treatment Mr Askins received? Obviously not, maybe BT was right to rebuff the YouTube factor even if the story’s premise is true. A tough call indeed for BT.
I’ll leave it that – but I am sure there will be a lot more of where that came from as social media increasingly enters the mainstream.
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