Jared Miller Feature #2 Rewrite October 26th 2012 Word Count 1200 Bam, bam, bam!

The peaceful sounds of rain falling outside LeAnn Hafens house were immediately disrupted by a loud knock at the door. It was a police officer, stating that all those who live within the home had to evacuate immediately. Failure to do so would result in arrest. An emergency runoff channel from a retention pond was filling up, causing potential damage to the dyke that held the water in place. Word got out that the dyke was collapsing, and every home south of it would be destroyed. LeAnn sat anxiously with nothing to do but wait and see what would result in the next few hours. Within moments the whole dyke caved in. A large wall of water went crashing toward the city, damaging everything in its path. Having no control over what was taking place, citizens of Santa Clara watched in amazement as the town they loved got washed away. My house got hit the hardest, LeAnn said. There was nothing but mud and a 5 foot wall of water. The water came in from the backyard and shattered my double glass doors. Before LeAnn came to the realization of what had happened, more than 300 volunteers were in front of her house wanting to help. Total strangers came, not asking for praise but wanting to help in a good cause, LeAnn said. You would not believe how many people showed up, all because they heard the news through social media. Social media did more than just inform the town of the flood victims; it built awareness of the local businesses customer service. LeAnn knew she could not live in her

home until it was properly taken care of. One of her first tasks was to notify Baja Broadband that she was unable to use its services until she moved back into her home, resulting in a cancelation of her subscription. With tears streaming down my face and mud on my clothes, Baja replied by telling me that I would have to pay an enormous amount for the damaged equipment and cancelation fee, LeAnn said. Nancy Gubler, a close friend of LeAnns, posted on Facebook her frustration with Bajas lack of customer service in a time of disaster. I made the post hoping that my close friends and family would see, Nancy said. The post went viral! I did not know the power of social media until I sent that post out. People just kept sharing it and sharing it, liking it and commenting on it. There were more than 90 comments and 300 likes over one night. Shortly after Nancys comment, viewers on Facebook began to post on Bajas business page. Local Facebook users began to threaten the company. The news took social media by storm, which gave Baja have a disaster of its own to worry about. My neighbors son in-law works for Baja, and he stated that in a couple of days Baja had hundreds of phone calls, emails and cancelations taking place, Nancy said. I had friends from California canceling their subscription from Baja. Even retired couples were following the movement. I had no idea that one simple post could be so powerful! Numerous flood victims received phone calls from Baja. District managers called and apologized for the problem and said Baja would reimburse all flood victims for their modems and DVRS.

Baja Update: The main guy from Baja just called LeAnn and said they were sorry for the problem, and said they would reimburse her for the modem and DVR. Im afraid it might be too late to repair the damage that has been done! Nancy via Facebook. Within the comment feed one of Nancys friends said Bajas reply was too late, and it should not have to take half of Santa Clara to cancel their service in order to be heard. Annie Simkins, a friend of Nancy stated, When a company cant empower their associates to take care of their customers without higher management getting involved, that company shouldnt be in the business of customer service. Large corporations are investing enormous amounts of money into their social media pages. These corporations understand the importance of staying connected to their consumers and engaged to their needs. On the other hand, local and small businesses are having a difficult time adapting to the change of social media. The pace of the social media world is like a busy bar or restaurant: fun to visit, but stressful and demanding to work in, said Eric Young, assistant professor of communication at Dixie State College of Utah. If youre not willing to constantly read, learn, solve technical puzzles and socialize with people, youll just be treading water and going nowhere. The bottom line is that those businesses are not reaching out to their current and prospective customers. Social media has revolutionized the customer service aspect within the business world, but only to those that use it effectively, said Erik Sorenson, president of Sorenson Advertising. For the first time, a consumer can have an intimate interaction and relationship directly with a company.

The simplicity of social media makes it easier for consumers to interact with businesses. Many small businesses are behind on adapting to social media, whereas large companies consider it a critical form of public relations and marketing, Sorenson said. The reason why this is the case is due to the lack of understanding of the power in social media by the small business owners. A consumer does in fact have more power now that social media is a strong part of society. Consumers not only have the opportunity to influence a business, but more importantly, they have the ability to influence more consumers, Sorenson said. Twitter or Facebook posting gives consumers a way to reach the entire social network of a particular business. A smart company will take social media and use it as an advantage by turning negative reviews into positives. Doing this in front of an audience as large as social media, builds credibility for that company. Small businesses can use the Santa Clara flood story to their benefit by applying a few basic principles. When creating a social media source, always define the businesss audience. By knowing the audience, businesses are able to create a style of service and communication tailored to that audiences needs. Determine the business strategy on how to use social media within its system. Training everyone on the overall perspective of social media will allow consistency within the corporation. Always make sure that the content of the network is compelling. Businesses audiences want to have clear and informative communication. Having these principles within the social media network will produce a sense of credibility with the business and customer. Nancys Facebook complaint was intended to inform close friends and family. I felt really bad that Baja got attacked so hard by their customers, Nancy said. I had no idea

that my post would go that far. This just shows you what one little slip up in customer service can do and how it can affect a business through social media.