By Mikal E. Belicove|For Entrepreneur.com|May 3, 2012

You may have heard that acquiring a new customercan cost up to five times more than keeping the customers you already have. Yet poor customer service continues to irritate many consumers.

More than half of U.S. consumers (55 percent) polled for the 2012 American Express Global Customer Service Barometer (PDF) say they’ve turned their backs on at least one potential purchase in the past year as a result of what they saw as poor service. And while only 17 percent of those surveyed say they’ve used social media to seek a resolution to their customer service query, this savvy group carries a lot of weight in how companies should respond.

Why? A whopping 83 percent of consumers who use social media to try to resolve a service or support issue have bowed out of a purchase when they have a bad service.

What’s more, social media users say they spend 21 percent more with companies that provide great service. And these particular users say they’re far more likely to tell others about their experience.

For example, consumers who use social media for customer service will tell an average of 42 others about a good experience — and tell an average of 53 people about a…

Continue reading Social Media Users Are Squeakier Wheels When It Comes to Customer Service