WRTA Commuter Rail and it's (attempt at) Social Media

It was 5:55am yesterday when I arrived at Union Station. I had 10 minutes until my train, the 6:05, started its trip towards Boston. Since its a bit chilly in the morning I like to get on the train and warm up with a few sips of my tea before we head out...but yesterday the train wasn't there waiting for me in its usual spot. My fellow passengers were waiting along the track with their phones out, looking for an answer to where our train was- and of course I decided to do the same. From here, I will take you through my web-wandering around the Union Station Commuter Rail's social media to see what its really like...and what needs to change!

Upon checking the train line's website I received this alert: 

So my train was delayed but it wasn't clear for how long or give any details other than that a "mechanical issue" had occurred. As I scrolled further down the page, I came across this list of the train's social media accounts. I figured I'd try their Facebook page first.

So I get to the page and see a few issues: only 34 people like the page, and it looks like whoever set up the page never finished putting in the information about what kind of company the commuter rail is! It seems odd that a train that hundreds of people ride daily would have such a small online following. 

And their ratings are all over the map! How are prospective train riders going to have an idea of what their train ride will be like?!

If you keep scrolling the reviews continue to go between 1 star and 4 stars...and then they start to be all 1 star. Not looking so hot for this track of the commuter rail!

And to make matters more interesting, the Facebook page directs visitors to the train's Twitter account. What is the point of having a Facebook page if its only there to send people to another site??

This is nonsense if you ask me.

But, my train had not yet arrived, so to pass the time I decided to visit the Twitter page. Low and behold! I came across a page with actual useful information AND a customer service number!!

The very first tweet on the page was exactly the information I saw on the website, but at least it had the information posted (unlike the Facebook page!):

And as I was about to dig into their Twitter page further, the train finally arrived and I was like...

Now that I was comfortably sitting on the train and drinking my tea, I had some time to reflect on what the Commuter Rail is trying to do with its social media pages. I think the comparison between the Commuter Rail's Facebook and Twitter pages demonstrates an idea that we've spoken about in class. A company needs to join the groundswell only after it is truly prepared. You can't create a social media page and then not use it. This puts you at high risk for angry customers to leave bad reviews (as seen on the Facebook page), or worse make your regular customers feel ignored and unappreciated. In my opinion, the Commuter Rail is better off getting rid of its Facebook page, and just focus on maintaining its Twitter feed. 

Thanks for sticking with me through my Train Waiting Saga! Have you experienced any situations like this where a company isn't using their social media to its best capabilities? If so, please share!