Frank Eliason (born November 9, 1972) is an American corporate executive and author. Referred to as "the most famous customer service manager in the US, possibly the world" by BusinessWeek,[1] Eliason is best known for developing the use of social media in the practice of customer relations.[2]
Frank Eliason | |
|---|---|
| Born | Frank Eliason November 9, 1972 |
| Alma mater | Bucks County Community College |
| Occupation(s) | Executive vice president, U.S. Digital & Customer Experience for Zeno Group |
| Board member of | Council of Better Business Bureaus Society of Consumer Affairs Professionals |
| Website | frankeliason.com |
Career
editAfter a brief career in retail, Eliason worked for Vanguard Investments and the now-defunct Advanta Bank. He joined Comcast as executive support manager in 2007 during a period of high-profile public relations issues, including an incident in which 76-year-old Comcast customer Monica Shaw destroyed equipment in a Comcast office with a hammer after becoming frustrated by the service she received.[3] Additionally, Bob Garfield, the host of NPR's On the Media and a columnist for Advertising Age, launched the website ComcastMustDie.com, which attacked the company's customer service.[4] In 2008, Eliason, as part of the team selected to address the issues,[5] created the Twitter account @ComcastCares and began directly responding to customer complaints, which positively impacted the public perception of Comcast.[6][7] Eliason, who interacted with more than 10,000 Comcast customers via Twitter,[8] was the subject of significant press attention; he was featured in The Wall Street Journal, ABC News, Wired, The Washington Post, BusinessWeek, Forbes and The Philadelphia Inquirer, among other publications, and became known as "Famous Frank" inside Comcast.[9]
In July 2010, Eliason left Comcast to become global director of social media at Citi.[10] At Citi, Eliason was recognized by trade magazine Bank Technology News as one of the Innovators of the Year (2011 and 2012), and in 2013 he was named by the Holmes Report as one of the 25 top innovators in the public relations industry.[11][12][13]
Eliason was named executive vice president, US digital and customer experience for Zeno Group in October 2015.[14]
He serves on the board of directors for the Council of Better Business Bureaus and the Society of Consumer Affairs Professionals.[15][16]
Personal life
editEliason, who grew up in Southampton, Pennsylvania, lives in Robbinsville Township, New Jersey. He and his wife Carolyn have three daughters: Robyn; Lily; and Gianna Rose, who died in 2004.[17]
Bibliography
edit- At Your Service: How to Attract New Customers, Increase Sales, and Grow Your Business Using Simple Customer Service Technique; April, 2012; Wiley; ISBN 978-1118217221; 216pp.
References
edit- ^ Reisner, Rebecca (2009-01-13). "Comcast's Twitter Man". Businessweek. Archived from the original on January 17, 2009. Retrieved 2013-11-21.
- ^ Israel, Shel (March 14, 2012). "Social Media Thought Leaders: Citi's Frank Ellison". Forbes. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
- ^ Fisher, Marc (October 10, 2007). "If I Had A Hammer, I'd Hammer the Cable Company". The Washington Post. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
- ^ Garfield, Bob (November 19, 2007). "Comcast Must Die". Advertising Age. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
- ^ Lavallee, Andrew (June 2, 2009). "Comcast's Twitter Guru Speaks". The Wall Street Journal.
- ^ Silverman, Dwight (April 8, 2008). "Follow-up: Yes, Comcast is following you on Twitter". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
- ^ "Still on Hold? Twitter Can Rescue You From Customer Service Line Waits - ABC News". Abcnews.go.com. 2008-07-22. Retrieved 2013-11-21.
- ^ Battelle, John (December 6, 2008). "An Interview With @ComcastCares". BattelleSearch. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
- ^ Roth, Daniel (January 19, 2009). "The Dark Lord of Broadband Tries to Fix Comcast's Image". Wired. Archived from the original on January 7, 2013. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
- ^ Fernandez, Bob (July 29, 2010). "Comcast Twitter chief leaves for Citigroup". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
- ^ "Innovators of the Year: Frank Eliason - Bank Technology News Article". Americanbanker.com. 2012-05-01. Retrieved 2013-11-21.
- ^ "Eliason Makes Citi More Social - Bank Technology News Article". Americanbanker.com. 2011-06-01. Retrieved 2013-11-21.
- ^ "In2's Innovator 25: Frank Eliason - In2". In2.holmesreport.com. Archived from the original on 2013-12-03. Retrieved 2013-11-21.
- ^ Stein, Lindsey (October 6, 2015). "Zeno Group snags Citibank's Frank Eliason as digital, customer experience lead". PR Week. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
- ^ "Frank Eliason Elected the Board of Directors of the Council of Better Business Bureaus - BBB News Center". Bbb.org. Archived from the original on 2013-12-02. Retrieved 2013-11-21.
- ^ "SOCAP International Elects New Board Officers and Directors - Alexandria, Va., Jan. 4, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/" (Press release). Prnewswire.com. Retrieved 2013-11-21.
- ^ "Gianna Rose Eliason". Legacy.com. 29 July 2004. Retrieved 20 February 2016.