Here comes the Twelpforce! Get Help Via Twitter From Best Buy's Social Customer Service Team

Best Buy has an AMAZING customer service tool called the Twelpforce. I was absolutely floored yesterday when I walked into a Best Buy and saw their Twitter info plastered up everywhere within the store. I was searching for a laptop AC charger and was perplexed about what adapter would fit my model best. For the sake of experiment I sent out a Tweet to @twelpforce with my model number and asked for help. I was shocked when they got back to me with four separate tweets with helpful information. The response was faster and more convenient than calling a 1-800 number and more helpful than asking a store associate. It was one of the best customer service experiences I've had in a long time and I thank Best Buy for having the tenacity to put the system in place.

The Twelpforce came into force a little over a year ago and has been going strong ever since. Anyone who is curious can browse a live feed to view the team in action as they respond around the clock to those who seeks their help by tweeting directly to @twelpforce or using the hash tag #twelpforce. The team consists of about 2000 individuals and is open to any Best Buy employee who wants to participate. According to a statement released by Best Buy last month, in a years time the Twelpforce has provided over 32,000 answers and response time has averaged out to about 15 minutes.

Best Buy is also utilizing its Facebook page for one on one interactions with customers. The page acts not only as a question and answer platform, but as a place for customers to voice positive and negative compliments. The company handles negative customer experiences by opening up a line of communication and offering to help via email. Every time a representative responds via the Best Buy Facebook account they list their name to communicate who is behind the message. The page has over a million likes and is constantly busy with activity.

The customer service efforts of Best Buy have not gone unnoticed and they've been praised as innovators. Their Twitter profile has nearly 30,000 followers, which may seem impressive, however is still relatively small compared to other large corporate accounts. It's still yet to be seen how successful Twelpforce will be in the long run, but the initial start has been impressive. Major contributors to the campaign include advertising the companies social networking channels on a television ad spot and having large displays setup within stores. Continued success will hinge on how often new customers jump on board and how popular Twitter eventually becomes. Nonetheless, Best Buy makes for a compelling case study of what's possible when using social networking services for customer service.