It really was great fun to watch the tweets flooding in after British Gas celebrated a hefty price rise by launching the helpful #AskBG hashtag.
But, although it is hard not to see the tag as disaster waiting to happen, an online version of pinning a Kick Me notice to your own back, a few days on it is worth reflecting on exactly how much damage the stunt did to British Gas.
Has anyone switched to another gas supplier because they were so amused by a scarcastic tweet, has anyone cut their energy consumption in protest at the outrageous profits critics accuse British Gas of accumulating? Is any pensioner warmer, or more likely to freeze to death because of a witty and/or offensive comment?
People are angry, bewildered, outraged or whatever because BG hiked its prices well above inflation. The social media comedy or Two Minute Hate was what it was.... but it didn't reflect any reputational damage that wasn't directly linked to a business decision.
What it did do, though, was make life just a bit easier for the other energy suppliers as, one after another, they quietly but inevitaby announce their own inflation-busting price rises.
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