Retailers ignore 83% of the complaints they receive on social media

Have you ever complained on a company’s social media account about an issue your having with their product or service? If you have, then you’re certainly not alone, because millions of people in the United Kingdom and United States do the same thing, but maybe they shouldn’t. According to the Q4 Sprout Social Index, companies tend to ignore a lot of these messages, with retailers ignoring as much as 83% of the complaints they receive on social media. 

It’s become common practice when you have a problem at a restaurant, need to change your cellphone service, or can’t figure out why your cable isn’t working, to contact the service provider or retailer through social media. A quick tweet or Facebook post to the company would seem to lead to more immediate responses and more efficient resolutions than the olden days of sitting on the phone or in a line at the store for hours. However, according to the Q4 Sprout Social Index, quicker service isn’t always what customers get when contacting businesses through social media. In fact, according to the data, there’s a greater chance your message will be ignored rather than addressed. In September, 59 percent of retailers in the U.S. and U.K. had already launched holiday shopping campaigns. It’s during the holiday season when messages increase and customers need the most assistance from retailers. However, it is during the holiday shopping season that retailers are more likely to ignore customer questions and concerns.