To my high school buddy Richard Jalichandra, CEO of blog aggregator Technorati (who just launched Twittorati.com): I’m sorry I doubted you.  Not that either of us knew back then which road Twitter would take, but you were confident it would stay on course.  Alas, eating humble pie doesn’t taste so bad when losing a debate actually helps me help my clients realize how Twitter fits into their business.

The solution came to me last week as I received a cell phone call from an  unknown number.  “Hi, Lisa, this is Steve, and I am the Customer Service Manager for Sport Chalet.”  Thinking he was calling about the “Nike Super Speed D 3/4′s” we ordered weeks ago,  I replied, “Are the shoes in?”  Nope. “I’m the customer service manager for Sport Chalet Corporate (!) and I am calling about the problem in our store you mentioned on Twitter last week.”

Panic hit, because some of the Sport Chalet kids know my kids. Feeling like a school-girl caught in a gossip scandal, I blurted out how sorry I was for badmouthing them on Twitter but I had been so frustrated and we really needed the shoes right away and they hadn’t come in yet and no one had followed up and why do they never have our size annd blah blah blah blah blah.  Don’t remember precisely what I said. It’s like getting caught with the smoking gun and your dad is at the other end of the barrel.

Somebody actually read Tweets???? “Hooray” and “OMG” went through my head simultaneously.

In this big wide online world, who would have thought that I could Tweet my frustrations, have them actually get back to Sport Chalet, have them look up my Twitter account, click through to my website, find out my  name, get my cell phone number and call to solve my problem?

But that’s PRECISELY my point. Sport Chalet took the time to read my Tweet,  look up my Twitter account, click through to my website, find out my name, get my cell phone number and call me.  And to apologize and offer to solve the problem. This was no impersonal Twitter DM.  This was a personal phone call from a corporate officer of Sport Chalet!

It hit me that THIS is the real future of Twitter–a direct, personal, one-on-one experience with companies who actually care about customers as individuals.  No more talking to “John” in Mumbai who might pass your ire on to “Sally” in the cubicle next door.  I got Steve at Sport Chalet corporate headquarters, prompted personally by a CEO who has better things to do than worry about a pair of cleats—like run 55 stores.

Sport Chalet cared about ME.  And it felt good, not just personally, but for my clients.  Because now I know exactly how to help them make their Twitter account successful.

It’s not about making money-it’s about creating relationships.  White papers and links to websites are great.  But my experience with Sport Chalet helped me to see that the true value of Twitter for business is to connect with customers and make them feel important. It sure worked on me!

Not long after, I found an amazing deal on a popular Chardonnay at a local grocery chain and was compelled to tweet my friends (real and online) about it.

Imagine my surprise when just hours after each tweet, I got direct messages from each company–one offering to fix the problem and the other essentially thanking me for the free PR. 

At first, I was alarmed at the “eavesdropping”.  Sure, I knew my tweets were public, but I never believed people actually read them!  To find out that these companies not only sought out mentions of themselves but actually had instant access to me seemed a bit clandestine.  Yes, I provoked this.  I provided the link back to my inbox.  But I was nonetheless startled-especially  by the company I had complained about–as if I had been caught with my hand in the cookie jar.  What else were they watching me do online?

Still, I have to hand it to them.  They know that their reputation can live and die via internet wildfire.  They realize that Twitter is the most direct “personal” connection outside their store that they can create with their customers.  And most importantly, they appreciate that the real value of Twitter comes in the form of a two-way street.

Companies known for spectacular ”old school”  customer service such as Jet Blue and Zappos.com use Twitter to listen and respond to their customers.  Good corporate Tweeters don’t “proselytize,” rather look to form relationships with the public.  Answering complaints and recognizing praise are simple ways to reach out.

“Sorry to hear about your experience. What store were you in?” wrote the shoe company rep.  The next day, a substantial coupon appeared in my e-mail inbox with the following note. “I hope you give us a 2nd chance to prove that we care.”  You bet!