How to extinguish a social media firestorm

In 2010, a prominent European comedian took to Twitter to complain about a mobile phone carrier’s customer service. After receiving an apology, which he deemed inappropriate and overly corporate, he invited others to share their disappointing experiences with the company. Within a week, the number of negative Twitter statements about the carrier soared; the company said it lost between €200,000 and €300,000 (US$255,000 and US$382,000) because of the incident.

In the past, when customers complained about a product or service, their opinions were typically confined to one-on-one conversations with a company representative. But now, with the click of a mouse, one consumer can spread damaging sentiments across blogs, social networks, and message boards to reach a global audience.

Guda van Noort and Lotte M. Willemsen (both University of Amsterdam)

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