Comcast's Frank Eliason: Creating a Better Customer Experience One Tweet at a Time

“Can I help?” Eleven characters. Unintrusive. Unpresumptuous.

Yet this seemingly innocuous question has the power to soften even the most disgruntled customer and open the door to communication. This is exactly how Frank Eliason, Comcast’s senior director in national customer operations, initiates many of his conversations with those who express their frustrations through Twitter.

Widely recognized as a pioneer in the use of social media for customer service, Frank – or @ComcastCares, as he is known in the Twitterverse – makes a strong case for why companies should not be afraid to venture into the social web.

Rather than shying away from criticism, he approaches each case head-on, with humility, authenticity and a genuine passion for achieving resolution to problems. In doing so, he has achieved the ultimate goal of any marketer or social media guru – transforming formerly dissatisfied customers into brand evangelists.

Recently, Frank joined Fame Foundry’s Jordan Drake to share his experience as the human voice behind the cable giant.

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Based in Philadelphia, Frank first joined Comcast as a customer service manager in September 2007. Shortly thereafter, he began reaching out to customers via phone after they blogged about their experiences with the company. In February of the following year, Frank was asked to take on a new role, director of digital care. In the two years since, he has spearheaded an innovative program that uses the tools of social media to provide real-time response to customer concerns – a program many others now seek to emulate. Follow him on Twitter @ComcastCares.

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Join Friends & Family of Military Service Personnel Nationwide in the Golden Star USA Community

Memorial Day is a time of remembrance for those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in service of our country. This year, with the launch of Golden Star USA, there is a new way to honor the courage and selflessness of all who have answered the call of duty.

Golden Star USA is an online community encompassing family and friends of service personnel representing all five branches of the U.S. Armed Forces – the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Coast Guard – including active duty, veterans and fallen heroes.

By registering as a member of the Golden Star USA community, you can create a Patriot Page to honor the accomplishments of the hero in your life, showcase their record of service and commendations and provide a forum where friends and family can share their own memories and stories.

You can also search the Patriot Hall to find any member of the Golden Star registry by name and unit, salute them with a personal message on their own Patriot Page and read posts contributed by other members of the community.

The concept for the site was the product of a collaborative partnership between Fame Foundry and Autumn Letendre, founder and CEO of the Golden Star USA Foundation.

Autumn approached Fame Foundry with the goal of establishing a platform through which she could promote the foundation and its mission, which is to provide marriage retreats and family counseling services for active duty and honorably discharged troops. As plans for the site evolved, the two organizations realized the opportunity to go further with an innovative idea that would bring people together and build a community dedicated to the purpose of creating an enduring tribute to the men and women of our nation’s military.

Autumn Letendre’s drive to help others stems from her own personal tragedy. Her husband, USMC Captain Brian S. Letendre, was killed in 2006 during his second tour of duty in Iraq, after he had voluntarily returned to the front lines as part of a special team training Iraqi army recruits. Now as a Gold Star widow, she is dedicated to advancing the mission of the Golden Star USA Foundation to serve military families who are struggling with the same challenges she and Brian experienced during his deployments.