> I don't understand why companies provide better support over Twitter (it is a bad idea as far as I can tell - they just have generally lousy customer service

> I don't understand why companies provide better support over Twitter (it is a bad idea as far as I can tell - they just have generally lousy customer service and for some reason change for Twitter, to some degree). It's very simple: regular frontline workers represent a large chunk of the total costs of the company (let's say 30%, so you keep them underpaid and overworked to keep profits high. But social media is the domain of PR - much fewer people, much better paid, much more visible to management, and able to order around even middle management when it's for the good of the company's image.