Interactive voice response (IVR) systems are typically used to service high call volumes, reduce cost, and improve the customer experience.

When I called Comcast customer service last weekend, I was given the option to input my phone number and have a customer service representative return my call within the next 20 minutes.

In theory, this system is useful. It allows customers to make better use of their time than idly waiting on the line, listening to promotional messages or music-on-hold.

But theory and reality are two different things.

About 10 minutes after my call, true to its word, I received a call back from Comcast. When I answered, I was greeted by a recorded message from Rick Germano, SVP, Customer Operations:

“This is Rick Germano, head of customer operations here at Comcast. We appreciate that you’ve chosen us and we think it’s our responsibility to give you a great experience. That’s our promise…”

I can recall this lengthy message because I listened to it repeat a half-dozen times during a five minute holding period before a customer service representative joined the call.

Seriously? The purpose of an IVR system is to save customers time and frustration, not add to it.

Comcast has a checkered customer service history. (In fact, it wouldn’t be unprecedented for me to receive a bill next month addressed to “Bitch Dog” for writing this post.)

Here’s the deal: You have to earn the right to record a message like the one above. Lexus can record that message. So can Nordstrom. But Comcast cannot. It hasn’t earned the right to record that message.

If you’re going to provide excellent customer service—for real—then talk about it. If you’re not, then don’t talk about it. Doing so only undermines consumer trust and reinforces how poor your customer service actually is.

I recall a statistic: 68 percent of customers quit doing business with a company or entity because of perceived indifference toward them as customers.

When I share this statistic with groups, most participants are shocked: “How is it that so many people claim to be treated indifferently? That’s appalling!”

And when I ask audience members to describe what it feels like to be treated indifferently, I hear responses such as:

• I feel like I don’t matter.
• I feel as though I’m unimportant.
• I feel ignored.
• I feel taken for granted.
• I feel devalued.

Exactly.

And the same sad phenomenon is happening in the social sphere. Businesses are establishing a social presence on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media channels and then ignoring attempts by their “fans” to engage.

Not long ago, I wrote a post titled, Engage or go away. The gist of the post was my surprise and disappointment at the lack of engagement from businesses in the social sphere.

Let’s be clear. By “engage,” I mean to take part in conversations, to be responsive to others, and to be interested in others.

Some people mistake activity for engagement. Activity (e.g, frequency of Twitter updates) has nothing to do with engagement. If you’re actively promoting yourself and your links via Twitterfeed, you’re not engaged, you’re probably a spammer.

If, however, you’re contributing to conversations as your schedule allows and making a sincere effort to reply to Twitter @s, DMs, emails, and blog comments from your social media fan base, then you’re likely engaged.

While it’s doubtful that you’ll be able to reply to every social media or email contact in a meaningful way, it’s a good idea to minimize the frequency of communication lapses with your fan base.

Here’s why: Lapses erode your brand.

Three nights ago, on November 8th, I tweeted this message to @comcastcares and have yet to receive a reply. That’s a shame. Seriously, to be treated indifferently by a commercial Twitter account with “cares” in its name is quite ironic and, sadly, all too common.

Here’s more irony: Bill Gerth, the Comcast employee behind @comcastcares, found the time to post a blog titled Connecting with Our Customers on November 10^th but didn’t find time to connect with a real, live customer who reached out to his Twitter account two days earlier.

Now, I haven’t met Bill. He’s probably a great guy. But Bill’s travel, work, family, and social schedule (or whatever may have contributed to his inability to follow up with me—a social media “fan” and Comcast subscriber—for three days and counting…) have no bearing on my perception that I was ignored and that my feedback was not valued by Comcast.

I’ve been contemplating a switch from Comcast to DirectTV (mostly for the unique NFL access) for a while now and lapses like this just make it easier to justify the decision to change cable providers.

If you’re going to make the decision to hang out a shingle in the social sphere, remember to be social. And a large part of being social is to avoid the perception that you’re treating others indifferently—as if they’re unimportant and don’t matter.

While fans and followers likely make allowances for those brands—people or companies—with whom they’ve established a genuine connection in the past, if lapses persist, the brand and its fan base will erode.

Do you agree? I welcome all comments, bouquets, and brickbats. Or, you can be like Comcast and just ignore me.

Honestly, I never thought I’d be writing a positive customer service story about a cable company in my lifetime. Cable companies, in my mind, have always been grouped together with poor service heavyweights like the postal service, IRS, and DMV.

My Twitter conversation last month with @ComcastBill changed all that. For the uninitiated, Twitter is a social networking website where you can post short messages of 140-characters or less. You can choose to follow the Tweets (short messages) of other Twitter users, and they can choose to follow yours.

Below is the chronological series of Tweets that made up our Twitter conversation. Note that my initial message at 8:59 AM on Feb. 26th was addressed to no one. I just launched it out into the Twittersphere. Fortunately for me—and the productivity of the remainder of my day—@ComcastBill was “listening.”

8:59 AM Feb 26th from txt
Comcast is out at my home. Tried resetting modem. No luck. Forced to find a good cup of coffee and Internet connection elsewhere.

9:06 AM Feb 26th from web in reply to enthused
@ComcastBill @enthused can i look into for you

9:11 AM Feb 26th from web in reply to ComcastBill
@ComcastBill Wow! Didn’t expect that. I just arrived at It’s a Grind in Aurora, CO and accessed my Twitter account. I’ll DM (means “direct message” in Twitter speak) you w/ details.

9:17 AM Feb 26th from web
@ComcastBill Not able to DM you. Can you DM me or send e-mail to info@stevecurtin.com? Thanks!

9:19 AM Feb 26th
@ComcastBill There, got you. I phoned Comcast (local service #) and an auto attendant lead me through the process of resetting my modem… (cont.)

9:20 AM Feb 26th
@ComcastBill (cont.)… No effect though wireless signal is strong!? My home # is (home telephone #). Thanks for any help you can offer from Pennsylvania!

9:29 AM Feb 26th
@ComcastBill @enthused I think the connection just came back up, can you confirm? I am showing everything good.

9:31 AM Feb 26th
@ComcastBill I’ll check it out in ~an hour when I return home. Either way, excellent service! And if you’ve been to my site, you know I’m a critic! ; )

9:33 AM Feb 26th from web
@ComcastBill @enthused having DNS issue in CO right now try changing your DNS to (DNS #) and (DNS #)

12:21 PM Feb 26th
@ComcastBill Yes, up and running…Thanks! Can Social Media Improve Customer Service? I think yes! A blog post in the making.

12:55 PM Feb 26th from web
@ComcastBill @enthused were trying

Wow! Did you also notice that @ComcastBill’s initial reply was within 7 minutes of my original Tweet—even though that message was addressed to no one in particular? That’s responsiveness! The issue was addressed, diagnosed, and resolved within 30 minutes of my original message!

My experience with @ComcastBill has transformed the way I view customer service and responsiveness by Comcast. Rather than being a critical detractor of Comcast customer service based on the negative reputation of the industry and my own personal experience, I am now—as evidenced by this blog post—a promoter!

I wonder when the postal service, IRS, and DMV will begin Twittering?