Purchasing a house can be a complicated and time-consuming process, especially if the house in question is a short sale. There are contracts to sign, a mortgage to apply for, inspections and appraisals—the list goes on and on. So when a company or individual in that process drops the ball, it can be nothing short of a nightmare for everyone else.
Bank of America is the holder of the house my husband and I have had our eye on. Over the past several weeks, we’ve been diligently jumping over the necessary hurdles, only to hit a wall in the past week as we’ve tried (with the help of our realtor) to get an executed contract back from Bank of America.
From what I understand, the initial filing of forms with Bank of America happens with a “general negotiator.” The term is a bit misleading as you aren’t actually able to talk to an individual, but rather are asked via a predetermined query to submit forms electronically. Some code- and logic-heavy magic takes place behind the scenes—submitting your forms, determining which office should handle the next step and so on…ideally.
However, if there’s a problem during that online submission of documentation, an automated email informs you that your submission has been rejected, but fails to tell you why.
What on Earth does any of this have to do with social media and customer service? So glad you asked…
After several long conversations with my now very frustrated realtor, I vented my irritation with Bank of America via my personal Twitter account (@musesfled). In less than thirty minutes, I was contacted by the Bank of America Twitter Task Force (@BOfA_Help) and asked to submit a brief description of my complaint and contact information via DM (“direct message”, if I lost you there). Surprised, I submitted the information they requested and sat back to see what might happen next. In just a few minutes, I received a phone call from a REAL person, who first apologized for my troubles and then set to work on getting things straightened out.
Solving this problem couldn’t be done in conjunction with holding a conversation with me, so the customer service rep said he’d contact the appropriate parties and then follow up with me. Disappointed that it wasn’t an easy fix, I got off the phone, wondering bitterly if I’d actually receive the follow-up I’d been promised.
It turns out, I needn’t have worried. In ten minutes, Jonathan (my diligent customer service rep) was calling to let me know that they’d identified the problem, addressed it and would also be assigning us a negotiator (in the flesh this time).
The moral of the story? Ask and you shall receive, the squeaky wheel gets the oil—I’m sure we could think of several. But what really stood out to me in the middle of all of this was the fact that social media has definitely changed things.
Last night, it served as my voice, when I couldn’t reach a live person. It connected me with the individuals who could not only help, but were actively looking to do so. Kudos, Bank of America, on your use of Twitter as a vehicle for customer service.
