This is how to use Twitter for Customer Services. American Airlines - Customer Success team who rock.

I don't travel to the US as much anymore and as I fly from Manchester Airport (U K), a place in the north of England my airlines are restricted unless I fly thro ugh London, thus I tend to go with United Airlines (or as was Continental who I found were much nicer than United) or American Airlines.

This was my first experience with American Airlines and I want to share that wit h you, so my trip out to San Francisco via Chicago went without a hitch from che cking in at Manchester to getting to Chicago and being rushed through with an or ange express card was great, I didn't miss my flight and got expressed through s ecurity which was a strange experience as I normally fly through Newark and tend to get If you are waiting for a flight well tough treatment, so a week at work in Santa Clara and the return leg home which started on Friday March 2nd 2012. I checked in at SFO 2 hours ahead of my flight 556 to Chicago, grabbed some brea kfast and headed over to the gate which as I arrived had a short queue for the d esk, so I took a glance at the screens and weather problems meant my 1040 flight was maybe leaving at 11.30 so I waited and 10 minutes later I was talking to one of the AA staff. A snow storm had hit Chicago and was causing chaos to inbound f lights, we were delayed but a flight was leaving now from another gate so the la dy on the desk hit the phones and started to attempt to get my bag moved from my flight to the then departing flight to Chicago, she didn't give up until a reso unding NO from someone came through and said the cargo load was locked on the fl ight and only God himself could open it up, but the fact that she kept on trying and didn't give up until she got the do not ask anymore speech from someone was a breath of fresh air and thus she then said she was sorry, and the only thing sh e could do was put me on the Sat flight from Chicago to Manchester and I would h ave to find a hotel (as a weather problem she couldn't pay for hotel or to trans fer me to another carrier which was a pain) and again she at least helped by giv ing me a number to call and telling me what to ask for to get the best discount possible for the hotel. So Im in SFO waiting now, ringing home to tell my son I won't see him this weeken d and it will be another week until I see him again (I work away from home and o nly see him every two weeks) and thinking there must be a way, so I hit the lapt op and scanning all flights from Chicago pushing messages out on twitter to see if anyone can help and two things happen, one the flight is changed and we are d efinitely leaving at 11.30 so there maybe a chance to catch my flight home to Ma nchester the second is a friend on twitter sends my message to @americanair. I h ead back to the gate and they then start the process of reversing my ticket and rebooking me on the flight from Chicago to Manchester, allocating my bags and do ing all the paperwork and computer inputs required without complaint just smilin g and stating fingers crossed. As Im boarding the flight a message comes back via Twitter from @americanair. @stewarttownsend Sorry that you flight was delayed, Stewart. We've contacted ORD & made them aware of the situation. Fingers Crossed! and thus the trip begins, I board take my seat and ask the staff when I get to C

hicago if they can clear the aisles for me to run, the captain states we will ar rive at 5.40 local time which means I have 15 minutes before my flight takes off !!!! This is the longest flight and taxi ever as the plane lands I start to ask the p eople around me if they don't mind if I go first and explain whats going on, seat belt signs off and the aisle is cleared this is human kindness at its best they also start to shout ahead and get other people to clear a way and the mad dash s tarts...... I clear the gate in 2 minutes and a sign off beauty beholds me two AA staff are waiting with their phones aloft with a picture of me off Twitter as they see me they start shouting Mr Townsend come on follow us, upon which we run to Gate 15 wh ere my flight is waiting to go so at this moment in time I have two AA staff who are doing everything possible to get me on the flight home not only have they w aited for me to reassure me as I run that the plane is there but also they are a pologising for the weather and the stress caused as I dash onto the gate and han d my boarding pass over there isn't time to say a big thank you, but they know h ow happy I am. Boarding the plane Jeff states welcome aboard Mr Townsend and takes my bag, help s me to my seat puts my bag away and says sit down and enjoy the flight. After we have took off their is an announcement that their is a problem with a d e-icer valve on one engine and that we need to turn around and head to a warmer climate which is going to be St Louis, upon where we are greeted with a lovely t eam of fire engines on the runway as we are coming in heavy with fuel and engine problems aren't great either :-) Once landed and all safe the AA crew make sure we are all ok, and throughout the flight to St Louis did come round to every pe rson personally and ask if they were ok, had any questions about what was going on, at St Louis I got off the plane for an hour whilst it was fixed and then we hopped back on and took off for sunny Manchester. Even though the flight had been delayed by this mechanical problem the staff rem ained polite, happy and courteous as ever and never flinched in remaining calm a nd making sure that the customer came first. Now that is what I call a Customer success experience and want to say a massive thank you to all the staff at AA, but especially the two ladies at Chicago from @americanair who got me home in time for tea with my son. What can brands learn from this experience. *Every customer has a voice and is important to your business. *It doesn't cost to go that extra mile but it can cost a whole lot more if you d on't *An awesome Social Media team can change a brands perception not just to one cus tomer but to their followers and followers followers. - Reach of voice is king. *Use all channels possible to keep your customers informed and updated, not just social media. *People like to know that everything possible is being done and if there isn't a n answer all attempts possible have been made to get there.