I'm afraid I've just wasted my vote because there wasn't an actual question and nothing to say that it was multiple choice UNTIL the results are shown.
I will always try the phone simply because when you get through, it's quicker, I can ask questions/confirm things more easily. The problem with email/secure messaging is that more often than not, the person at the other end doesn't read what I've written properly, so I get a cut and paste reply which doesn't help at all. So then I have to write back again, and on it goes.
The problem with social media is I might want to sort something out now, not in 5 hours time when someone replies and I might be doing something else.
I'll give you a very recent experience of mine with Severn Trent, tar, brush and all that.
My Mum had received a closing water bill (she wasn't going anywhere) on a Saturday and I saw it on Sunday. ST's phone lines were closed so I sent a DM via Twitter with the necessary information and that I wanted to speak on her behalf (89, dementia etc). I get a reply Monday morning while I'm out saying that as I'm not named on her account, I need to call an 024 telephone number while I'm with her.
So I make an extra trip and call the number given from her landline, I get an answering machine saying that "We tried to call you..., call this 0345 number", which is the normal customer contact number! So the reply via Twitter wasn't of much use.
I call ST on their 0345 number, enter her account number and DOB, the automated voice tells me there's a queue of 10-15 minutes. Fine, I'm happy with that. 20 minutes later its 5-10 minutes, then it goes back to 10-15 minutes. After 30 minutes the call hasn't been answered so whilst I continue to wait on the landline I call from my mobile. I'm asked to enter her account number and DOB which I do but the system doesn't recognise either. So now I've got two calls in the queue. ST answer my mobile after 15 minutes, her landline was still in some mythical queue.
10 minutes on the phone after the usual nonsensical questioning of my Mum to allow me to speak on her behalf, and the problem is solved.
In less than an hour on the phone the problem was solved. Communicating via Twitter took several hours and I was given an incorrect phone number to call. Of course whatever form of communication is used, the key factor is the competence of the person at the other end.
For the life of me I can't understand why there's this push for businesses to use social media. My assumption is that it requires less people as they can handle multiple queries at the same time, mainly by spreading the queries out over time/CS staff.
I understand that there needs to be different ways to contact a business, but surely most of us want to use a telephone don't we?