FCC locks users out of Facebook page

First Capital Connect have taken steps to prevent their passengers posting new Wall comments on their official Facebook “fan” page, and have made other changes to its layout.

The move comes after many negative comments posted on its page since “The Troubles” of late 2009 and early 2010, when the beleaguered train company was running an emergency timetable, citing “Force Majeure” due to drivers refusing to work overtime. The Facebook messages from angry commuters were met with fairly light-touch moderation, and regular – if somewhat “toeing the line” – responses direct from the company’s PR department, who did seem to make an effort to answer some of the more difficult questions.

The staff member (known to regulars as “Miss FCC”) who had been moderating the Facebook page seems to have disappeared, leaving many posts unanswered. Suddenly, before the weekend, changes were made to the Facebook page settings – including the removal of the ability to make new Wall posts – but still no replies to existing messages.

Other changes mean that comments, even to existing posts, are hidden by default – meaning an extra click for each comment thread you might want to read. The comment threads were perhaps where the more vocal complaints were made, so this is a convenient way of hiding – but not entirely repressing – the most negative responses. The discussion board, where users could post longer complaints and queries, has also been removed – presumably with all the previous messages too.

While FCC’s responses to complaints were generally short, simple and corporate, many users appreciated the direct responses rather than going through the website contact form, and forgetting all about their query until “up to 28 days” later, when they would receive a flat response. With these changes to the Facebook page (which could potentially be permanent), a little bit more “human-ness” has been lost from what little was left of FCC’s corporate image.