Alexander and Associates Inc.

Many thanks to Simon Shifrin, reporter for the Idaho Business Review, for seeking our firm’s advice in a recent story about Twitter. Simon looked at best practices for handling customer complaints on social media – always a hot topic among clients – and included perspective from Jen Harris (@JenHarris09), project manager for the Boyle Network; Lisa McGrath (@tweetmcg), a new media lawyer in Boise who helps craft social media policies for businesses; and Brad Frazer (@bfrazjd), a partner at Hawley Troxell Ennis & Hawley in Boise.

The online story is available only to subscribers but here is a relevant excerpt:

Martin Johncox (@mjohncox), public relations director at Boise-based Alexander and Associates Inc., said trying to shut down a conversation on Twitter is a bad mistake for a business. It’s like trying to tell people at a cocktail party not to talk about something – it only makes them want to talk about it more.

It’s the culture of Twitter for people “not to be quiet, to probe things and discuss things more at length,” said Johncox, who handles Twitter accounts for a number of businesses. It’s not smart – and bad customer service policy – to try to shut down customers’ conversations on Twitter, he said.

“Any establishment in this position needs to know that no matter how bad they feel, no matter how wrong they think the accusations are, what’s going on here is that your ability to deal with the customer complaint is on display for everyone to see,” he said. “It might be kind of painful and slightly risky, but the restaurant will want to delve into it more.”

The Idaho Statesman recently published a letter to the editor from me, but it was cut. The complete letter as submitted is printed below. When I used to serve on The Statesman’s editorial board, one of my duties included editing letters and I understand the need to occasionally do this.

However, The Statesman has given Tony Jones many opportunities to lobby against anyone (other than him) living on Hammer Flat, so it is unfortunate they could not print at full length my single letter exposing Jones’ hypocrisy. As long as I’m at it, here and here are the documents relating to the illegal subdivision, which is a few miles east of Boise.

“As a public relations consultant who assisted Skyline Development, I am proud of my role in helping earn approvals for The Cliffs. Unfortunately, due to the economy, this visionary planned community never got the chance to carry out habitat restoration and environmentally conscious development on the Hammer Flat plateau.

“I have listened to Tony Jones for years and his latest opinion, ‘Fewer humans may be just what Hammer Flat needs,’ compels me to write. While Jones calls for Hammer Flat to be kept free from encroachment, he himself lives there. While he demands we follow development rules, he lives in an illegal subdivision. While he decries unplanned development, his remote living choice requires he burden neighborhoods with his traffic. While he advocates environmental stewardship, he drives on sediment-spewing dirt roads and soils Hammer Flat through his septic system. While he presses for fiscal responsibility, he relied on Boise taxpayers to extinguish 2006 brush fires that threatened his private Idaho. While he rails against development, his business, www.rmecon.com, does economic feasibility studies for developers.

“I hope the Statesman mentions Jones lives on Hammer Flat next time it publishes one of his opinions saying no one should live on Hammer Flat.”