Przykro nam to słyszeć :( (We are sorry to hear that) : reactions of telecommunication companies to their customers’ complaints and claims published on Twitter

This paper is dedicated to telecommunication companies’ reactions and responses to critical opinions, complaints and claims published by their customers on Twitter, a microblogging website. The manner in which service providers respond to negative comments and complaints of their customers seems crucial in the process of creating and reinforcing a given company’s image online. The aim of the analysis was to determine the communication strategies used by service providers in response to negative comments of their customers and the impact of such strategies on the company image and customer relationships. Given the specificity of Twitter, the analysis was also intended to identify the influence, if any, of the medium on the form of the interactions and the communication strategies employed. The research proves that the most commonly used strategies of reacting to customer complaints and claims are requests for information, apologies, explanations, as well as underestimation of the misconduct and rejection of the complaint.