Singer Ed Sheeran's Customer Service Blunder: "Cool Story Bro"

Ed Sheeran might be able to "Sing," but when it comes to customer service, he definitely has no place on "The a Team."

The singer-songwriter, whose new album "x" debuted at #1 with sales of more than 200,000 last week, committed a major customer service "Don’t" while leading a Q&A on Beats Music’s Facebook page.

As part of a promotional effort for both Sheeran’s album and Beats Music, the international superstar took over the streaming service’s Facebook page on Thursday, July 3. Sheeran answered all fan questions using the official Beats Music account.

Insofar as most questions directed at Sheeran were silly, light-hearted and sarcastic, his responses were appropriately silly, light-hearted and sarcastic. Not intended as a deep exploration into the mind of Ed Sheeran, the Q&A instead represented an opportunity for fans to be noticed by the celebrity they hold in such high esteem. The endeavor would be a failure if it lacked sufficient doses of playful humor and snark.

But humor, snark and the very nature of a celebrity Facebook takeover are not for everyone. At one point in the day’s conversation chain, a Beats Music customer shared a frank piece of commentary about his experience with the service.

"Even though Beats music has been an absolute train wreck with their customer service and overall response time with their glaring technology gaps with the web player, I still have hope," commented Facebook user Justin R. Popp. He justified his optimism by praising the service’s sound quality and use of human curated playlists.

He did, however, justify his earlier repudiation of the brand’s customer service by revealing the "inexcusable" extent to which Beats has reiterated the stock claim that it is working on improvements to its web player.

Neither the precise motivation behind Popp’s comment nor the precise expectation he had for a response is clear, but he was surely looking for a stronger reply than what he ended up receiving:

A simple, dismissive "cool story bro" from the Grammy-nominated recording artist (but under the Beats Music name).

Immediately upon receiving the dreaded catchphrase of indifference, Popp responded, "seriously Beats music? I hope that wasn’t being sarcastic. If so, you’ve lost a customer." He later referred to the treatment as "despicable."

Upon confirming that Ed Sheeran was responsible for the comment—and doing so without direction from anyone at Beats—a representative for the service apologized to the customer. Keeping a sense of humor about the situation, Sheeran, meanwhile, Tweeted, "Accidentally answered a beats music complaint letter with 'cool story bro'. Got told off for that one."

Given the context of the situation, one can understand how the "cool story" came to be.

Presumably operating with a sense of marketing tunnel vision, Beats focused only on the value of a high-profile name like Ed Sheeran contributing to its Twitter. It did not anticipate a surplus of urgent issues unrelated to the Sheeran Q&A, and it almost certainly did not expect him to respond to such issues.

It also likely figured awareness of the Sheeran takeover was self-evident. Whether one should have been able to receive a reply from a legitimate Beats representative is a different story, but insofar as Beats had promoted the Q&A and featured a Facebook stream full of interactions with Ed Sheeran, there was limited room for debate that Sheeran was the one responding.

Popp might have been unaware when he posted the initial comment, but given the evidence at his disposal, he should not have been surprised by the revelation that the person who responded was not under Beats’ employ.

Not anticipating customer service inquiries or complaints, Sheeran, meanwhile, might have perceived the complaint as the work of a social media "troll."

An observer must also account for the mindset gap between Ed Sheeran, who was attempting to project a cool, relaxed, witty vibe to his fans, and Beats, which wants to create the best, most welcoming experience for its customers. Mocking someone who could be perceived as a whiner, no matter how justified those whines, is exactly what one would do to convey the image Sheeran desired to convey.

None of that context is sufficient to right the wrong. A frustrated, but still loyal customer posted a legitimate message on the business’ Facebook page, and the person operating the business’ Facebook page offered a sarcastic, dismissive response. There is no room debate: Ed Sheeran—and Beats by virtue of the circumstance—was in the wrong.

The context does, however, offer a reminder of how quickly things can go awry in the world of social customer service. A business does not have to be remotely "anti-customer" to project an image that warrants such an identification.

Given the challenge of maximizing the value of the channel without minimizing the efficacy of the customer service element, here are some best practices for engaging customers via social media.

You are Not Just Speaking to the Customer: When it comes to social customer service, it is essential to remember that conversations are not between two entities. They are between the business, the customer and any other interested onlooker. How a business handles a specific customer’s issue can serve to define how thousands perceive its customer-centricity.

In this case, even if the customer was "trolling" the Ed Sheeran Q&A, it was not overly different from the type of comment that could come from a legitimate customer. Beats’ assumptive, dismissive response therefore risks creating concern about whether sarcasm and disinterest are par for the course in its customer service effort.

Remember, the Customer Defines the Discussion: As far as Beats and Ed Sheeran were concerned, when the incident occurred, the Facebook page was being used as a platform for a fan Q&A. It was not a fully functional customer service offering, and it did not—in that moment—represent the best destination for customer feedback.

That decision is not the business’ to make. While a customer can be asked to use common sense and realize that crashing a Ed Sheeran Q&A with a stock complaint about the backing business’ service will not endear him to the world, a customer should not be forced to leave his preferred channel to receive the service to which he feels entitled.

The challenge to simultaneously promote the Ed Sheeran Q&A and answer customer questions and comments is one for which Beats Music—not Beats’ customers—must provide a solution.

If your business opens the door to customer communication in a given channel, it needs to understand that the customer is consenting to no restrictions about the type of communication he will initiate. It thus needs to be prepared for whatever he opts to say.

Only the Customer’s Opinion Matters: Through a short-term lens, Sheeran’s dismissive comment generated legitimate benefit. It showcased Sheeran’s humor and personality to a very receptive audience. In the process, it also downplayed—and thus minimized—what might be a very legitimate and discouraging criticism about the Beats Music service.

Through a long-term lens, however, the comment represents an irrefutable negative. Whiny or not, accurate or not, a customer is to be valued—not belittled—by a business. Beats is not entirely responsible for Sheeran’s response, but it is responsible for putting him in a position to respond. It is entirely responsible for allowing a customer inquiry to reach a snarky celebrity rather than a concerned, empathetic employee empowered to offer a resolution.

By not taking every step possible to route customer inquiries to the appropriate desks, Beats suggested that a one-time marketing stunt outweighs its effort to create an optimally valuable customer experience.

Messages and Mindsets Must be Consistent: Social is a different animal than email or phone. The responses are meant to be pithier. There is more opportunity for personality and humor in the discussions. By virtue of being broadcast to the world, every interaction also represents a marketing initiative.

Social’s impact on response style does not, however, render the need for thematic consistency moot. They might say it slightly differently, but agents who represent the business on Facebook must communicate the same ideas—with the same mindset—as those who do so on the phone.

If social media representatives lack a full appreciation for the holistic corporate culture or the role they play in mitigating customer service issues, they will undermine the efficacy of the channel. It suddenly stops functioning as a legitimate platform for support and starts functioning as a convoluted distraction.

Ed Sheeran is neither a Beats employee nor committed to the same priorities as the business. Under no circumstance should he be the one representing the customer service function on Facebook.

Relevant Information—and Empowered Agents--Must be Available at all Touchpoints: Knowing what he now knows, one would like to think Ed Sheeran would take back his remark. And if the interaction happened on the phone or in a private live chat message, he probably could do so with a sincere, considerate apology.

Social does not grant that privilege. Context aside and miscommunication aside, Sheeran’s initial response—one that was posted via the Beats account—was instantly broadcast to the world and forever etched in customer service history. This particular example might blow over as far as the masses are concerned, but many examples of social customer service mistakes can create lasting, long-term damage.

Knowing that there are no second chances in social media, businesses need to be certain their touchpoints are supported by effective and efficient helpdesks, qualified agents and direct footprints into the business’ customer intelligence.

At any given moment, the responding agent must have access to the information he needs and the skills to offer the best possible response. If he cannot respond on his own, he must have a streamlined means of acquiring the right information or approval from the appropriate team member. His channels for communicating inside and outside the business must be crystal clear and properly amplified.

If Beats had a better protocol for routing issues—or informing Sheeran not to respond to that particular inquiry—it could have avoided the issue. Or, in an even more optimal scenario, if Beats had a means of instantly educating Sheeran on the customer in question, it could have empowered him to provide the best possible response.

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