Tags
AT&T deceitful business practices, business, Gary Vaynerchuck, internet service providers, Nicola Morgan, social media, The Thank You Economy, Tweet Right, Twitter
The Thank You Economy
by Gary Vaynerchuck
written from the perspective of a customer*
and
Tweet Right
by Nicola Morgan
KISS, Keep It Simple Stupid.
Both of these books are written about social media, but they are written very differently. Tweet Right is specifically for Twitter, and as I found out after buying it, requires one to use Tweet Deck or don’t bother reading any further. Technologically challenged, I stopped reading after being unable to figure out how to download Tweet Deck. (I figured it out later, I’m not totally incompetent.) The Thank You Economy is much more broad. It’s about how to use social media effectively to relate to customers, do damage control, and give a positive emotion to your brand. At first, I was reading it as a marketer for work (since I have recently been hired at CardLab as a marketing associate). However, after being completely ripped off by AT&T and exposed to their deceitful and unethical business practices, I realized how much consumers could gain from this book as well, so it is with a little anger at AT&T, but alot off excitement that I bring you this three part series on The Thank You Economy.
I feel the need to throw in a little bit about Tweet Right because it was SO highly praised on Twitter that I thought for sure it was the golden ticket to understanding Twitter and building a following, but I never bothered to finish the book. As Gary points out in The Thank You Economy, having a million followers is great, but a number is a number. If it’s a superficial “I’ll follow you if you follow me” relationship and you haven’t built a connection with those followers, than having a thousand followers who know and interact with you is much more valuable. Don’t buy Tweet Right, and don’t be scared by Gary’s writing (he writes as though he’s talking to a business) if you know how to interpret it as a consumer, you can really use it to increase your influence over brands.
Let me stress one more time, just so everyone is on the same page. The primary goal of The Thank You Economy (the book, not the principle) is to convince businesses that social media is a huge resource for them to connect with customers and a marketing resource they should not ignore. This will be reviewed more in part two. Now that everyone is on the same page, here is my formal review of The Thank You Economy as a consumer.
I’ve had a problem with Dell before and I learned the magic words, “I want to speak to your manager.” It was like listening to a little kid get caught with their hand in the cookie jar and for the most part, it resolved my problem. Dell went above and beyond my warranty and I got a replacement computer. Calling in and acting like a reasonable, rational person solved my problem, but what happens when that doesn’t work? What happens when a company *cough*AT&T*cough* decides that you are not valuable, they just want as much money out of you as possible, and you are nothing more to them than their personal ATM?
Some people cancel their service and switch providers. Other, more vengeful people call every friend and family member they have and tell them AT&T is a horrible company, and not to do business with them, but does it really hurt AT&T? As one of the largest cell phone and internet providers, does it really matter to them if a customer and a few family members are upset? Up until the wide spread use of social media, not really. Now, it can have a great impact.
Say I get on Facebook and Twitter and I spout off about how AT&T advertises on TV in my area high speed internet for 24.95 a month for the first year for new customers with no phone line and no cell phone bundle, just high speed internet, (which they do) but after I sign up for the service, I get a statement for 48 dollars a month. When I call in, they tell me the 24.95 a month price does not exist. Seeing it on TV again, I call in and demand the 24.95 a month price. “That price is only for people who sign up online.” I am told. “Nothing we can do.” When I ask to get a manager, they put me on hold, have a little private pow-wow, kick their feet up and toast a glass of wine for all I know, and tell me that’s the best they can do.
Without social media, my cell phone bill would sky rocket because I don’t have a land line and I don’t have unlimited minutes, so I’m more or less SOL and AT&T gets away with charging me more. (By the way, they actually told me 19.95 a month, but that’s a whole ‘nother story for part 3). With social media, I have power. I have a voice. In one Tweet, I can reach 129 followers. That may not sound like alot, BUT some of my followers are really popular people. As an author, I am friends with other authors and three literary agents.
Author 3861 Followers
Author 5712 Followers
Author 6411 Followers
Author 6313 Followes
Author 6109 Followers
Author 13,398 Followers
I’ve talked to all of them, so they aren’t random follows, and I talk to two of them on a regular basis. Emlyn Chand is my boss at Novel Publicity, so when I’m upset about something, it’s not just random whining to her, she listens. She may not RT it, but if one of her friends asks her what she thinks of AT&T, she may remember my bad experience with them and warn her friend to stay away from them. (I removed their names because I didn’t know how they would feel about being mentioned in this context.)
If I had gotten those six people alone to RT me, my warning against using ATT would have over a 40,000 person reach. Now imagine if their followers had RTed, and so on, and so on. Suddenly I have the power to speak out against being mistreated by ATT and I have the power to warn others (like anyone who reads this blog) about AT&T.
Possibly most importantly, say that little snot nosed customer service representative had made no effort to get a manager, put me on hold and went for a smoke break, if you use social media to scream and shout enough, sooner or later someone at ATT is going to notice and possibly, upper management who had no idea there was a problem, will become aware of the problem and able to help make amends. In my case, one of the AT&T people reached out through Twitter and Facebook, but they still have alot to learn about The Thank You Economy principles because their handling of the matter even after reaching out was less than satisfactory. That will be explored in part 3.
The point of part 1 is to say, this book helps you realize your power as a consumer to get attention and work your way up the corporate hierarchy until you find someone who will listen to you, or you cause the company to lose enough business that sooner or later, they won’t be in business. In some weird way, I could almost classify it as an empowering self-help book.
5 stars as a customer.
*This is the first in a three part series. Coming up soon is a review on The Thank You Economy written from the perspective of a business as welll as a case study on AT&T, how they have implemented and failed at the Thank You Economy principles.
To see other book reviews by Ermilia or request a review, check our Book Reviews page.
Ermilia 
Your AT&T example (and our previous comment conversation) made me realize that I totally forgot to use a real-life example in my Likeable Social Media review! Ack! I was going to use the example of Pfizer, the birth control manufacturer that recently screwed up millions of packets … leaving women potentially pregnant. A good company would do more than apologize in this scenario—they would dip into their own pockets and start a fund with a women’s health organization that will provide those soon-to-be moms with the care they need for their future babies.
I totally agree with this, but I can’t help laughing at the thought of Pfizer trying to claim Family Support on their tax returns!
I cannot agree with you more on the Pfizer situation. Since I had just been watching 16 and pregnant, my first reaction was “well that’s why you don’t have sex until you’re ready to have kids,” but as soon as I thought it I realized how stupid that was on my part. At least some of the women taking that birth control had to be married and just not ready to have kids or not wanting to have any more, and actually being responsible enough to use protection. Then, you have the women who aren’t having sex, but using birth control to regulate their hormones. For me, it was a mood stabilizer because my hormones were so out of whack that it was really bad if I didn’t take them.
No, you’re right to an extent: No one should have sex, protected or not, unless they accept the risks and responsibility involved. Even with good protection, accidents happen. But at the same time, using birth control IS taking responsibility. It’s trying to prevent something you’re not ready for, financially or otherwise. It’s letting people give in to what’s natural (raging sexuality) without procreation. Sex IS normal—and to deny it completely just because of the issue of having kids is silly. That’s why humans are more advanced beings than animals—we know procreating out the wazoo isn’t a good idea. Trying to tell people to be abstinent is like trying to tell them not to breathe air—it’s just not going to happen.
Traditional values like no sex before marriage just isn’t a reality anymore, and even when women are married, it’s like you said: They could still not be ready.
And you’re right: Some women use it for other health reasons.
I was right with you until you said “no sex before marriage just isn’t a reality anymore.” There are still people who believe that, I being one of them (much to my boyfriend’s disappointment). I try not to push my belief system on other people which is why it hasn’t come up yet on the blog, but ignoring that comment, I agree with you whole heartily. If you’re having sex, you do need to be willing for anything that comes from that, but using contraception obviously helps minimize the risks, but accidents do happen.
Ah, I phrased that poorly, I’m sorry! Sex before marriage is indeed a reality, but it’s not the only acceptable option anymore—it’s not the norm per say, just like not couples living together until marriage isn’t necessarily the norm anymore. It of course depends on your values and beliefs, and plenty of people still follow older traditions (and that’s perfectly fine), but relationship expectations are more flexible nowadays than they were before.
I’ve heard (Nana was an operator) that AT&T used to have a monopoly on communication services, and that when they did, their service was reliable, cheap, and the same price for everyone. Maybe someone else old enough to remember would care to comment.
I actually tried to use the internet and social networking to let Comcast know what I thought of them about 6? years go. I could probably do a better job today. I had no affect on them whatsoever and they are still in the practice of wooing new customers with $20 lies while gouging their faithful customers (read: monopoly victims) with $80 truths.
Yeah, 6 years ago I don’t think there was enough wide spread use of social media to make it as powerful a tool as it is today.
“*No* sex before marriage is indeed a reality,” I meant to write.
Thank you for clarifying and not being upset by my comment. There are certainly more lifestyle choices that are accepted now that were scandalous even a generation ago.
Of course—there’s no reason to be upset! 🙂 Opinions are worth respecting, even if someone doesn’t necessarily agree. Times change, and people do things differently as the years go on and cultures evolve. I actually kind of like the no sex before marriage idea, although it’s not for me. But there are good concepts behind it that are beneficial and smart, especially if someone isn’t in a committed relationship.
Regardless of religious views, I am very for waiting until marriage. It’s important to me that my husband, whomever that turns out to be, knows that he’s the only one I’ve ever been with. While I’m not against people living together before they’re married, it’s not for me. I don’t want my living arrangement based on my romantic life and at the moment, my boyfriend makes way more than I do, so we’d live in his apartment, not mine.
I read somewhere last year that for every person we reach, they have potentially 150 Facebook friends to share with. So 129 people is pretty darn good if you want to reach a few people, it just grows exponentially with every share each of your 129 followers does either on Twitter or Facebook, in my opinion. It all counts.
Thanks so much for your terrific review and for bringing this book to my attention! It sounds terrific.
When I mentioned it to you on Facebook, I was actually going to link you to the one I’m writing from the perspective of a business. You are a shining example of how a business should use The Thank You Economy principles. This one was just me mad at AT&T more than anything.
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