Wow Toby, this is a prime example of what listening to the blogosphere can do for a company. I would be very interested in knowing whether Capital One responds and if not I would like to follow up with them myself. Perhaps if we ask enough we'll get an answer. Perhaps Mrs. Garfield will be able to tell of a good story about Capital One or perhaps she'll be swept off her feet by a new company that pays attention. Do I hear you out there Discover? Perhaps Capital One could be the card preferred by bloggers. At 67 Million of us, I'm sure a company might want to pay attention.

I think what the problem -- and the reason why the letter may not be read -- is that the company does not think there is a problem. They may not experience the impact of that until it's too late... and then they'll need to react, and backtrack, and engage + spend more resources; not to mention loss of reputation, which is generally hard to rebuild quickly.

I am working on a similar post for my weekly FC Expert blog -- and I will credit your experience as well; especially since it is within the same industry and service. Well done, Toby!

Here's the problem: If Capital One did take the time to read your email, their thought likely was 'Who cares, it's just ONE BLOGGER'. Since they likely aren't familiar with how ideas spread in the blogosphere, they aren't familiar with the fact that a post by ONE BLOGGER can literally circle the WORLD in minutes. And just as a complaint that goes unnoticed can be picked up by other blogs (such as Diva Marketing), a company that takes the time to address their customers' complaints, will have their praises sung far and wide throughout the blogosphere.

But alas, many companies learn this lesson the hard way.

From one diva to another, I love your blog. Keep up the great stuff!

Also, wanted to let you know that you've been tagged:

http://marvelousmissmoxie.blogspot.com/2007/02/tag-im-it.html.

Toby I am looking forward to hearing the end of this story. I too have brought to the attention of clients comments that have been made on blogs and what they should do to address them. Negative customer service or the positive excitement of getting married and being registered on their site.

True, I don't think they understand the true impact of the blogosphere. More importantly, I think they are afraid. Those in the mainstream who just hear about the blogosphere through the media, only hear about the times companies have been flamed. Never about the times where they have been complemented. Maybe showing examples of positive experiences would help here.

Toby,

I have a story of a company who does monitor social media. I made a post on my blog about how a Radio Shack employee rescued my day and within a couple hours Radio Shack corporate contacted me wanting to know the employees name and the store so they could congratulate him and share the customer success story with other Radio Shack stores in their company newsletter.

You can read the story here. Basically I brought a big box of cords in with my laptop and dumped it on the counter and said, "Help me make this work - I'll buy whatever extra cords and gadgets I need, please just help me." And he did!

You can read the story here:

http://www.webmomz.com/blog/this-cord-goes-where-adventures-in-podcasting/

I just heard that TJX is switching credit card providers and will be coming out with a new Chase TJX card with the same features as your old card.

Stay tuned.

Toby,

Thank you for personally forwarding this post to me. I agree that many companies do not monitor their presence in the blogsphere enough. Alot of companies are still in the mindframe, "We have an excellent website, isn't that enough?" What many don't fully realize is that the web isn't just a one-way advertising vehicle, it's a multi-lane communications highway.

There is an overlap between customer service and marketing. The two are actually one and the same. Customer service is an opportunity to touch a customer or a newly converted prospect and build a continuing relationship. And this isn’t something you can overlook. Customers today are more empowered than ever to influence a business; they can help it and they can hurt it. They can go to a blog and post things about that company.So customer service is so important as part of providing an overall good experience, which is why it can’t be looked at as a cost center.
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Samflutch
Pennsylvania Treatment Centers

Customer service is one of the best uses of social media and can have a major impact on corporate brand and reputation. Many companies are now turning to social media to improve relationships with customers by providing a better customer experience.