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Alton Towers and lack of social media

djtruefitt

djtruefitt

TS Team
This is something I have been meaning to post for a while, quite often when i'm bored on my phone recently I have been looking at the Alton Towers Facebook page, and I have to say they have pretty awful customer service/social media presence on Facebook (and also Twitter). They certainly like to use social media when it suits then, they always post on it with photos of the Smiler, details on deals, scarefest, etc. However they very rarely seem to read what anyone puts on there or reply to anyone!

As far as I can tell the Alton Towers Facebook page seems to be just ran by a few random people who have other jobs to do, such as marketing or guest services, and they don't seem to have their own social media team. Compared to many other companies that do now a days, E.G Tesco, M&S, Nandos, and plenty of other big companies.

Here are a few comparisons from the last few posts on their own Facebook page:
Posts/photos by users today - 19
Posts/photos Alton replied to - 10

Posts/photos by users on Tuesday - 8
Posts/photos Alton replied to - 1

Posts/photos by users on Monday - 30
Posts/photos Alton replied to - 6

Posts/photos by users on Sunday - 16
Posts/photos Alton replied to - 0

Posts/photos by users on Saturday - 20
Posts/photos Alton replied to - 0

Posts/photos by users on Friday - 30
Posts/photos Alton replied to - 1

Today posts by users = 123
Total replies from Alton Towers = 18
Total posts ignored by Alton Towers = 105

As you can see most days Alton Towers reply to very little, and they certainly don't work weekends! The worse thing is looking at most of the things people post, they could be answered very simply, such as opening times, prices, fastrack, etc. Most of these questions do get answered, not by Alton Towers, buy by random other members of the public on the Facebook page!

So lets do a compassion to Thorpe Park (which from what I have heard is ran by a private company, or has some sort of social media team).

Posts/Photos by users today - 13
Posts/photos Thorpe replied to - 11

Posts/Photos by users on Tuesday - 10
Posts/photos Thorpe replied to - 10

Posts/Photos by users on Monday - 12
Posts/photos Thorpe replied to - 10

Posts/photos by users on Sunday - 22
Posts/photos Thorpe replied to - 19

Posts/photos by users on Saturday - 12
Posts/photos Thorpe replied to - 10

Posts/photos by users on Friday - 23
Posts/photos Thorpe replied to - 17

Today posts by users = 92
Total replies from Thorpe Park = 77
Total posts ignored by Thorpe Park = 15

As you can see Thorpe park do work weekends! They also reply to pretty much any post (no matter what it is!) They also like most photos that are posted on their page.


So what is your opinion on Alton Towers and their social media? Do you think social media is important for a company?
 
I think social media use is an absolute must these days. It's such a powerful tool at it highest moment currently. A lot of companies/businesses have caught on this the past few years and used social media as a tool not just to advertise and market, but to interact with customers and bring forward that closer relationship between the customer and business.

You've quite clear shown how little Alton reply too (which looks very bad considering people find it a simpler way to get a quick answer). Although aside from that I think what Alton lacks most is interactivity. Most posts are purely advertising, nothing more. Other theme parks try to engage conversation on social media and use sites such as Facebook as a way to post exclusive pictures of constructions and exclusive video logs. Alton Towers could quite easily create features like these. Just something as simple as a poll asking "Nemesis vs The Smiler - which is better" would bring in that interactivity they their social media needs.

If they do not have a social media team though, that's something that should be looked into. Given how high profile Alton is, they should be swimming in social media and using it to their every advantage.
 
Do Alton really need to bother answering questions on facebook? There's normally a dozen busybody enthusiasts there to do the job for them.
 
Yes, but 'busybody enthusiast' replies, whilst usually well-intentioned, sometimes don't set a good impression to the person asking the question, from a psychological point of view. Official replies give the person asking the question - either consciously or subconsciously - a greater sense of satisfaction.

The honest truth (and I know it seems obvious) is that if Alton Towers start replying in a timely manner, 'unofficial' answers to questions will tail off quite quickly.

There is of course a place for enthusiast answers but these should supplement the official replies, not replace them as they are doing currently :)
 
It's something that affects the guest's experience, possibly even before they've walked through the gates. I think Alton used to deal with queries better when they ran the separate @ATGuestServices account on Twitter. From what I've seen they now seem to respond primarily to positive feedback, post marketing related posts and try their best to sweep negativity away with little interaction.

In contrast, Thorpe have been very friendly and conversational this season. They've responded to general comments when I've mentioned them in posts and a lot of their posts recently aren't solely about promoting Thorpe Park. They've also used it to effectively gauge people's reaction to planned events such as Summer Nights.

Smaller parks like Lightwater have been doing great with social media for a long time, and from what I can tell aim to respond as much as possible.
 
I dont see why Alton would have reply to all the posts though, some are just whinging, some don't warrant a response etc. Personally, if you need to complain to AT, I think an email or letter to their customer services team is better than writing it on Facebook.
 
Maybe I'm old fashioned, but I preferred the days when people just read the website and didn't expect staff who could be actually helping run the park to take time out to do it for them.
 
I understand why people like to use social media to contact companies as sometimes it's the easiest way to get in contact and with most companies get a quicker interaction. Sometimes trying to get contact details to the company can be difficult to get and if your on a phone social media also makes contact easier. Plus with quicker responses makes you feel appreciated as a customer.
 
Times have changed, so many people use social media and I think people expect to be able to get responses to queries from major companies on the likes of Facebook and Twitter. Towers do have a big social media presence but they definitely need to improve and increase their interactions with customers.

:)
 
But I still don't get why I'd want to interact with a company? They're not my friend, they just want my money and I just want their product. If anything I find it creepy when companies try to be friendly.

I don't care about a friendly response or feeling valued. If I needed to ask a question to them on facebook, I'd be happy with a snotty answer from some geek with nothing better to do as long as it answered my question.
 
Alton massively under utilise social media.

As the park that is the highest place 'checked-into' in the UK you'd have thought they would see Facebook as a 2-way street. The twitter is poor too.

They seem to have flurries of interest, such as having Tweets showing in Guest Services, which is a really clever way of integrating social media into the park. Then they dont utilise that tool at all.

I was more impressed with the SmileSeats twitter promotion (where followers were told they could find 2 free fast-tracks on park for the smiler. Excellent idea. But it had one HUGE stumbling block, they promoted it with the #SmileSeats, which means no-one is going to spot that unless they look for it.
They would have been better using a generic #AltonTowers or #TheSmiler one, so it would be more obvious.
A hash tag being used once a day by the winners isnt going to promote anything.

But they tried. So I cant knock them too much. But I dont think the management at Alton Towers realise the potential of Social Media - perhaps they should outsource it to the company who do Thorpes too.
 
It is just the modern way for companies now to use social media, and customers expect this! In the past I have wrote on other companies FB page because its far easier and quicker than heading to their website and looking for a contact form or email address. And these companies have always replied, either with an answer or with a link to their website to the form I need.

I know the majority of the posts people post on the AT FB page are rubbish and the answer could be found anywhere (eg what time are you open tomorrow, can I use this 2 for 1 next week, how much is it to get in, etc). But by ignoring these simple questions, these customers might just not bother coming to your park. They might have asked the same question to another park and got a answer. They could quiet easierly be losing customers before they have even visited the park.

The same can be said for customers who have had not such a good day, by simply ignoring the messages, the chances are that customer will never return, and will probably tell all their friends about how crap you were!


The best example of very bad social media was when the Smiler was closed a few weeks back for 4 or 5 days. Alton Towers simply ignored the fact it was closed, they didn't reply to one person who asked about the Smiler. Now really what kind of customer service is that? Now i'm not blaming the current person or team who deal with Altons social media, but clearly they don't have the time or the tools to do social media properly. You need a dedicated team or external company.
 
Im quite happy with towers on twitter and fb, they use it to post offers,all they need to do, when they know they have spare capacity in the hotel etc.

They don't need to reply to people,90% of posts are people moaning, wanting something for nothing,moaning that the smiler was closed, too much moaning these days, quite a lot of it on the forums as well.
 
djtruefitt said:
The best example of very bad social media was when the Smiler was closed a few weeks back for 4 or 5 days. Alton Towers simply ignored the fact it was closed, they didn't reply to one person who asked about the Smiler.
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Im glad you mentioned that. It was just deceit, dishonesty and arrogance on Altons behalf. There was no excuse for it, it was greed that stopped them announcing it was closed, and disrespect that stopped them from replying to guests.

This is a time when a social media service should be powering through, be open and honest - those guests you say 'sadly its not operating at the minute, why not wait for scarefest and ride in the dark' - or something similar.
It keeps a level of service and communication with your guests, that would probably swing another visit and certainly improve things like customer service scores (Which funnily Alton are struggling with this season).
 
Ben said:
It keeps a level of service and communication with your guests, that would probably swing another visit and certainly improve things like customer service scores (Which funnily Alton are struggling with this season). [/color]
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This has been a bastion of Towers for years, great service, great atmosphere, not always making the best operational decisions etc. I remember one particularly dire year a few ago, which actually put me off going for a little while - they were disgraceful actually. They then seemed to improve markedly for a while. This year though, it seems to be split down the middle - brilliant, or shocking.

I have experienced both sides multiple times now this season. I certainly cannot recall it being this inconsistent. I think the abject failure of their social media is one. For me though, this guidance usually comes from somewhere up top, not usually the person tapping the keys.

They did respond to me I have to say, but the follow up? Non existent. Polite, concerned, communicative - then moved to I assume another department, what happened? Nothing.

It has at times, been like dealing with two entirely different parks.
 
I think you have to be careful with social media. Its a two sided sword, and not something that large organisations can use just to promote their product. You need to promote and be seen to actively support customers who have issues.

If I am buying a service, and I see customers complaining, and not getting a response, it might make me think twice about using them.

Similarly, if the company is re tweeting, or liking status that contain material that is not appropriate to the audience, it might put me off. If the company is family focused, IMO it should not be interacting with comments that are not suitable (Inappropriate language/Mature Themes) for the companies target audience.

Alton Towers has a great following on Facebook, and not so much on Twitter (makes me wonder if its due to people checking in, and liking the page at the same time), but I still believe that they can use Facebook to actively promote the park, and respond to criticism and engage with customers to increase there social media presence. I still feel that if used properly it could replace the BOGOF vouchers we see out there as a way to successfully advertise the park.

Ian
 
Thing is whether we think its right or wrong that people seek answers on social media is completely and utterly irrelevant. The fact is its an important marketing tool and people expect some kind of response from social media pages.

Thorpe have worked that out, i'm fairly sure there are plenty in the resort who know it too, just not altogether sure those high up get it.
 
Resurrecting an old topic but noticed towers seem to have upped their game with social media recently... I noticed they advertised for a social media team over the closed season and since opening they seem to be guaranteeing an answer on Twitter and Facebook between 9:30am and 6pm and seem to be sticking to it.

Anyway thought it was nice to see considering the comments on here last season :)
 
Dave said:
Resurrecting an old topic but noticed towers seem to have upped their game with social media recently... I noticed they advertised for a social media team over the closed season and since opening they seem to be guaranteeing an answer on Twitter and Facebook between 9:30am and 6pm and seem to be sticking to it.

Anyway thought it was nice to see considering the comments on here last season :)
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DAMN IT!

I've been a consultant for people on Social Media I'd have applied for this, would have been a nice way to get my hands on their marketing department ;D
 
Seems like an easy job.

Sit on Facebook and Twitter all day, and when they get a question, either google it, ask colleagues or they may just know it lol!
 
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