If a customer does complain on Twitter and you pick up in it quickly, it can actually do your reputation a lot of good as people will see your company as one that really cares about customer service and sorting out problems.

There are a number of things businesses can do to keep on top of their online reputation – some of which are mentioned in a blog post of mine ORM Tips

I think with Skweal, there are higher chances for certain issues to escalate and leak. It’s way better to control these complaints yourself rather than having a middleman. Given that complaints should always direct first to the provider.

Those companies are perfect for selling their product to as they are likely to fall for such shortcuts. The pitch matches the thinking here. On the other hand, the good companies will focus on improving customer service.

Companies who don’t have a contact page aren’t any more likely to use a service like Skweal. Why? Because if they were interested in feedback, they’d provide some method of doing so, even if it was calling each customer personally.

The argument about a mobile site doesn’t cut it for me either. If I was on a mobile, it’s not hard to tweet the company or do a search and get their email address. Chances are, if your order is screwed up, or someone didn’t provide the service they promised, you likely aren’t going to know until you’re at home or work anyway.

I’m not completely sure why you’d need analytics to show you the locations and shifts having issues. If you’re dealing with the problem adequately, you should be asking the customer directly or it will already be recorded when the purchase was made.

For most companies, the information collected by their shopping carts is more than adequate, especially when combined with a good CRM program. Even tracking customers after the problem has been resolved can be done with a good CRM program, or a to-do list and a phone call. I’m sure they’d appreciate it much more after a bad experience.

As a consumer, I hate auto-generated or template messages, and if I’m already irritated or pissed off, the last thing I want is another one. (Press ’1′ for English, Press ’2′ or French…If you want to speak with a customer service representative, press ’986′…”). I’m sure I’m not the only person who feels this way.

The single biggest reasons customers complain is because they want to be heard. They want to know that what they say matters and the issue will be dealt with. They’ll go wherever they have to in order to satisfy that need. So, I’m confused as to how tailored, automated responses satisfy this need?

The entire thought about finding out how influential a customer is just terrifies me. So, what? If that person doesn’t have a Klout of 79 and 90K followers on Twitter, they don’t deserve your attention? Truly, I am puzzled.

We’ve seen Twitterpeeps, small bloggers, etc with very few followers or influence go viral on several occasions. The United Breaks Guitar guy? Whoever heard of him before the video? The whole fiasco with Cooksource Magazine? How would measuring influence have predicted that Monica Gaudio would get that sort of reaction from her tweets and blog post? It simply happened in the right place, at the right time.

Any good company worth its salt will make a record of customer’s complaints and feedback. As previously mentioned, it’s priceless information when improving products/services, creating marketing strategies, or to justify the value of your product/service. I’m still not seeing any value here, aside from the fact that Skweal would have a huge database of companies, customers, and complaints. Imagine what you could do with that kind of information…

So yeah, I will still recommend my clients use their own systems, and make it as easy as possible for customers to complain in a way they know they’ll be heard.

Focus on customer service. If a business is thinking of signing up for online reputation management there is already a flaw in their logic.

Customers are intelligent enough to realize complaints posted to skweal will not make it into the mainstream public web. They will continue to yelp, tweet and use other review sites.

You make some valid points. Keep up the good work Lisa.

Dear Entrepreneurs, Create stuff that people need; do not create junk and then try to push it off on people. Thank you, Customers

How is this a valid argument for the service? You’re going to enable businesses to continue to not optimize their sites for mobile, and continue to annoy their mobile-connected customers? Not helpful. There are a lot of things many businesses still need to do to be kickass in the customer service department. Adding a middle man isn’t one of them.

The other thing that comes to my mind is, if I go to a brick-and-mortar store and have a bad experience, I want to talk to someone right then, and have the issue fixed right then. Would it make sense for them to tell me to walk across the street to their complaint service’s location? Some other business that’s not related and doesn’t even have the same brand name? Who are they? Why do I want to talk to them? That would just piss me off even more. Fix it now, fix it where I am, and don’t make it any more complicated than it has to be–or doesn’t have to be.

P.S. The service’s name and its spelling are like nails on a chalkboard. But maybe that’s just me.