Haters gonna hate… And sometimes, a troll comes to the rescue, as Facebook user Mike Melgaard did for Target.
But Melgaard taught Target’s customer service team a lesson, too: Don’t fall asleep at the wheel.
According to published reports, Melgaard set up a fake facebook account for “Ask ForHelp,” used a Target bulls-eye as his profile pic, and trolled people who left Target negative comments on its Facebook page about its decision to move toward gender-neutral labeling of children’s products.
Melgaard’s snappy answers to stupid posts were brilliant. But they weren’t exactly what you’d expect from real Target customer service representatives.
Though it’s quite possible Melgaard saved the Target customer service team for writing their real feelings… Target’s customer service team should have done a better job monitoring its Facebook page. Melgaard managed to leave comments on 50 posts over a 16 hour period, according to adweek.com.
But I won’t go into a condescending “And what have we learned, Target” rant, because we ALL know the answer (always monitor your social media channels). Instead, I’ll show off some of his brilliance:
This isn’t the first time a major company’s customer service center was trolled. Here’s a brilliant example of what happened to people who vented their frustration to a United Airlines parody account on Twitter.
Tim Parry is the Managing Editor of Multichannel Merchant