Service lessons from the ash. Photograph by NASA Goddard Photo and Video.

Twitter for customer service has been growing like crazy. In a recent Innoveer website survey, 70% of respondents said that Twitter should become a bona fide customer service channel, just like phone, email and IM. In short, if your company doesn't have a customer service strategy for Twitter, you need one.

That requirement became even more obvious during Iceland's Eyjafjallajökull volcano eruption, which resulted in more than 100,000 flights being canceled, and interrupted the travel plans of more than 10 million people, including me. The week that the ash forced all of the flights to be canceled, I had six flights in and out of London. Like a lot of people, I spent untold hours on the phone, trying to rebook and reschedule. Along the way, here's what I tweeted:

On the phone a lot today with @VirginAtlantic, @BritishAirways and @Cityjet re my 6 flights this week; BA taking the longest & least helpful

Categorize my tweet as blowing off steam. But what's interesting is that service reps from two of the airlines followed up:

CityJet: @adamhonig. Did you get your query re. your flights with us resolved?

British Airways: @adamhonig We're sorry you're feeling frustrated. We're working hard to help everyone.

Now, do you think BA' is being just a little shortâ€"saying sorry not like "we apologize," but rather, "get over it"?

My calling out BA, via Twitter, is perhaps ironic, given my argument that customers shouldn't be allowed to jump the queue by using Twitter. But I wasn't making a customer service inquiryâ€"just commenting on the state of BA's poor customer service.

Cultivate an Excellent Twitter Tone

For organizations evaluating the best way to embrace Twitter as a customer service channel, the airlines' different responsesâ€"yes, at a time of great stress and disruption, but what better test is there?â€"provide numerous lessons, especially when you view tweets and responses. Here's a customer recently querying Virgin, for example, as well as Virgin's response:

• [9:12am] @VirginAtlantic: So do I need to do anything if my flight's been cancelled and I want to choose the refund option? Still on hold (1h40m).
• [9:43am] @GneralTsao You're doing the right thing. Our agents will arrange refund or rebook you. Whichever you'd like. Hold on. You'll get through.

It's a hopeful note, and you'd be hard pressed to find a better tone. Could Virgin have asked for a phone number, via Twitter, to contact this customer directly? Probably not, since the customer's phone number would be plastered all over Twitter, for everyone to see.

Study: Customer Service Excellence Entices Consumers To Spend More

Virgin's excellent service helps customers keep their cool during a crisis. But according to a recent study, it's also a sure-fire way to not just stay in business, but to get customers to pay more. Indeed, the survey of 304 U.S. consumers' online spending habits, conducted by StellaService, found that consumers are willing to spend almost 10 percent more when they're getting great customer service.

Early estimates suggest the volcano's disruption estimated will cost the aviation industry and tour operators between €1.5 billion ($1.9 million) and €2.5 billion ($3.2 million). As a result, according to a study conducted by the Centre for Economics and Business Research, airfares may rise by 11.5% over the next year. If airlines refine their customer service strategies, however, they might make the price increases much more palatable.

What's Your Twitter Strategy?

Of course, there's a lesson here for any business, not just airlines. Namely, the organizations that maintain the highest levels of customer serviceâ€"via all channels, including Twitterâ€"will have an edge on the competition.

So get your Twitter customer service plan in order. Integrate Twitter into your customer service queue, and train service representatives to ensure they correctly handle Twitter as a customer service channel. Also tap your marketing team to try and do something different with Twitter. And for the sake of your business, not to mention your customers, don't delay.

Learn More

You'll never succeed at Twitter without first mastering customer service basics, starting with having a good plan. Also remember that if customers' only option is to resort to using Twitter for customer service, and there's not a volcano disrupting your industry, then there's something very wrong with your customer service program.