Frustrated but not outraged, I sent out a simple Tweet last night about my Bright House cable box not working properly.

I really wasn’t too bummed (luckily, my boyfriend wasn’t home) but wasn’t too excited that my box was out either. I just logged on to Netflix and called it a night. And then to my surprise, something happened… I had a Tweet from Bright House.

Now, working in social media I know that I’ve personally spent hours searching for people talking about different restaurants or businesses that I manage, and making sure that everything being said about the brand is addressed – but never have I been on the receiving end! I was amazed that (without even @ mentioning Bright House) I got a response – and one that seemed to be genuine!

I followed Ian’s instructions and direct messaged @BrightHouseCare. In a matter of minutes, Ian was looking up my box and checking if there were any issues. In the meantime, we were making small talk – proving to me that he indeed was a human who cared! Brownie points. Ian found the problem and is sending someone over to take a look at my box.

Yes folks, this all happened via Twitter.

As a customer, I was impressed and felt like Bright House TRULY cared. As a community manager, my brain started churning… Buzz word alert ROI: How can you prove social media brings in business? Dare I say… forget about bringing in business for a minute. Think about the impact that social media has on customer satisfaction.

As a current customer, the customer service I received today sold me. Bright House has my business as long as I live here because of Ian, his attentiveness and the fact that I felt like he truly wanted to help me. I was so impressed, I tweeted about it, I am blogging about it, I called my Boss and bragged about it… I am promoting Bright House and it’s because I WANT to.

So I guess what I am trying to say here is… forget about ROI right now. I’ll tell you why with an example…

If someone is displeased with his or her meal at a restaurant, what does the manager usually do? He personally visits the table and comps it. Why? Because he wants to do everything he can to make sure that the customer leaves with the possibility of coming back. They didn’t make any money off that customer RIGHT THEN, but if the customer comes back, it will all be worth it. Focus on who you already have in the door and give them the best customer service they could ever imagine.

As a customer and as a community manager, I’m begging you… take a tip from Bright House and don’t lose sight of what really matters – your customers. Whether it’s reputation management or a smile when they walk in the door… make it known that you care and you should see the benefits.

And on that note… Bright House, give yourselves a pat on the back. You’ve made one customer very happy and I don’t plan on shutting up.