Arseda: The world's worst customer service by Pete Sortwell

Pete Sortwell is a comedy author and he set up a parody Twitter account pretending to be the Asda Service Team. This book transcribes the Twitter feeds of genuine users who raise issues with Asda, the tweets from Pete’s parody Twitter account and tweets from the genuine Asda Service Team. The format of Pete’s book clearly shows which tweets are from the his parody Twitter account and those tweets from the genuine Asda Service Team.

Well, this book is a HOOT! I thought it was brilliant. The beauty of this book is that although Pete wrote the parody tweets, all the rest of the tweets are genuine. I found it was a wonderful illustration of how Twitter works, how genuine shoppers feel about their Asda experience and how people on both sides of the customer service desk have a sense of humour. I loved the use of language on ALL of the tweets, from the colourful language of the genuine users, the tongue in cheek humour of Pete Sortwell and the corporate set responses from the genuine Asda Service Team. I thought it was lovely how Pete did ALL his parody tweets in character, so as you progress through his book, you feel that his tweets are from a real person and you develop a relationship with him that is similar to what you enjoy with your workmates. Pete even had his own parody corporate set responses to the tweets raised by genuine shoppers. I loved this consistency and all credit to Pete because Twitter reacts extremely quickly in real time, so his tweets had to be done on the spur of the moment. This is very different from regular author work where you have all day to draft a full page, edit and publish.

I loved the humour of this book as it showed how the general public really act. I can find nothing wrong with this book and I do not think that anyone would be offended if their tweets had been included. Many genuine shoppers spotted the parody account and took the tweets in good spirit. My favourite tweet conversation involved the issue of toilet cleanliness in Asda supermarkets, the possible use by drug addicts, the use of special lighting and the effect of drug users deserting Asda in favour of Tesco.

I do not think that the management of Asda will be bothered by this book. When companies have a Twitter account they must accept the rough and tumble of Twitter life, taking the praise with the criticism on the chin. I really loved the content of this book, I found it very entertaining and it made me chuckle. It was a great antidote to the polished corporate speak we have to endure everyday, so this book gets the top score of 5 stars from me. Well done, Pete.