A snap poll of 100 top businesses shows that a surprisingly low number are able to answer customer service questions adequately through social media.

Research by customer software business Eptica shows that just 39 per cent of companies were able to answer questions asked through Twitter, even though 76 per cent were contactable via the medium.

The study posed 10 questions to 100 companies through online channels and evaluated each firm’s speed and accuracy in responding to email, Twitter and web chat.

Some 41 per cent responded accurately and on-time to an emailed question, while 29 per cent were not contactable by email at all. Two years ago just 13 per cent did not offer email as a communication method.

The average response time to a question on Twitter was eight hours and 37 minutes, although the report authors gave an honourable mention to one company replying in just four minutes.

“The web, email and social media are fast becoming the channels of choice for consumers, yet the biggest brands in the country are struggling to cope,” said Olivier Njamfa, CEO of Eptica.

“In particular, when it comes to Twitter companies are playing a dangerous game by establishing a presence and then failing to engage with customers.”