Research involving 1,000 UK adults by Echo Managed Services shows that 18% would opt to share their grievance through channels such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram over more traditional private methods like phone, face-to-face or email.

The study reveals people’s increasing reliance on social media for communication with companies and provides a wake-up call to those with social offerings that don’t make the grade.

A further 18% said they would use social channels first when faced with any complicated situation or crisis, such as a cancelled flight.

Organisations should consider handing responsibility for social media channels to customer service departments as well as the marketing function.

“Customer service must be consistent across all communication channels,” said Chris Cullen, head of sales and marketing at Echo Managed Services.

“Due to the variety of queries coming through social media, it should be developed to be as broad as possible and not just rely on stock answers to popular questions - as is unfortunately sometimes the case with social media management.

“Ultimately, not prioritising social media as much as other communication channels is risky business for organisations and can potentially lead to reputational damage, and lost customers - especially considering the nature of enquiries coming through this channel.”