Corporate Twitter accounts – love ‘em or hate ‘em, they do have a use. Who else would we complain to when stuck in a call queue?
But Paul, who was running the British Gas account, really ruffled the feathers of the internet today after he put a topical twist on his usual morning tweet about the help line’s opening hours.
Morning all. A year today we lost a pop icon David Bowie, time flys don't it? We're here till 10pm if you need anything. Thanks, Paul #RipDB
— British Gas Help (@BritishGasHelp) January 10, 2017
What has the anniversary of David Bowie’s death got to do with British Gas customer services, you ask? Well, nothing. And people were confused. And then they were angry.
@BritishGasHelp A really brazen attempt to hijack a Hashtag that has nothing to do with your business. Paul – you should be ashamed
— GrumpyMcGrumpface (@grumpyoldchris) January 10, 2017
@BritishGasHelp
", time flys don't it"
That's really bad taste. I'm shocked a business account has written that.— Ted (@tedreally) January 10, 2017
There was confusion, too. Multiple people running the company’s account didn’t know Paul had gone rogue and were getting confused about all the angry tweets he was getting.
The best thing about the awful British Gas Bowie tweet is that the rest of the team don't seem to know about it. Paul is a rebel. pic.twitter.com/pptB320xCS
— Al Fox (@MrAlFox) January 10, 2017
Then came the inevitable apology. Turns out Paul really was just a big Bowie fan, who maybe hadn’t quite got the hang of running a company Twitter account.
Hey, David Bowie meant so much to me. I didn't mean to offend anyone & I only wanted to pay tribute to a master songwriter & true icon ^Paul
— British Gas Help (@BritishGasHelp) January 10, 2017
Then things started to shift and everyone rallied round him.
@BritishGasHelp Paul is great. More Paul, please. And give him a pay rise, ey?
— Will Stevens (@teletextpage152) January 10, 2017
@BritishGasHelp #givepaulabreak
— Staysick! (@fawnknutsen) January 10, 2017
@BritishGasHelp I stand with Paul pic.twitter.com/swEecCEEQZ
— kate (@katecliffy) January 10, 2017
It seems his colleagues were firmly on Team Paul.
@teletextpage152 we're pretty fond of Paul too. Thanks for the support ^Georgie
— British Gas Help (@BritishGasHelp) January 10, 2017
And most importantly, Paul survived to tweet another day.
@TevoTom @cobboldmassive Not at all – he's still here. Cheers ^Laura
— British Gas Help (@BritishGasHelp) January 10, 2017
So, to everyone running a corporate Twitter account today, don’t let the haters get you down.