I second what mikeash said about Twitter and I'd add that because of the nature of Twitter you'll be posting a support inquiry publicly (I doubt many DM's get s

I second what mikeash said about Twitter and I'd add that because of the nature of Twitter you'll be posting a support inquiry publicly (I doubt many DM's get sent) which makes the company want to resolve the issue and in the process make themselves look good. It's like publicly saying "hey, we're a company that takes support seriously, just look at us being helpful". There was a great post on HN a few months back about a guy who got a steak delivered to him when he arrived home from the airport from his favorite restaurant because he tweeted something about really wanting one of their steaks before his flight departed and he mentioned them. The company had followed him on Twitter, knew he was a loyal customer and went the extra mile to personally deliver the steak when his flight landed. I always think of this story when I think about customer service for my own company. The point is that Twitter's public nature can make or break you as a business and smart businesses know how to leverage that power for positive PR.