BMO Harris Bank did itself a favor by being responsive to questions and criticism on social media from customers locked out of their digital accounts with the bank this past week, according to Adrenaline, an experience design company.

The Chicago-based bank is dealing with the fallout from a glitchy launch last week of its new mobile banking app, causing disruption that was compounded by technical issues with the bank’s online banking platform. Hundreds of customers took to Twitter complaining they were having trouble logging in and demanding answers from the bank.

Gina Bleedorn, chief experience officer for Atlanta-based Adrenaline, told Bank Innovation in an email that the bank responded strongly in three main areas: being transparent about the issues, engaging one-on-one with customers, and displaying “appropriate concern, understanding and empathy” in its communications.

As Bleedorn wrote:

“Some brands have the tendency to hide when things aren’t going right for their customers. BMO is doing the exact opposite. They are updating their customers – even if they lack an exact timing for a fix – and providing customer support for affected users.”

On Twitter, in particular, BMO Harris responded to each customer having issues with a direct acknowledgment, offering individual support for each customer through a private channel.

“The bank knows this is a big deal for their customers,” Bleedorn said. “They are not downplaying the inconvenience and are providing banking specialists in branch, over the phone and via social to help resolve their customer’s problems.”

She said responding is important because customers in the digital 24-7 world are “generally patient for 24, maybe even 48 hours.” After that, all bets are off.

“People’s tolerance for inconvenience starts to wear thin – needing to get on with their everyday banking needs like bill-pays, transactions, etc.,” she wrote.

Also see: BMO Harris Bank’s Rocky Rollout of Online, Mobile Upgrades Riles Customers

Brands can hide out until a trust crisis blows over, Bleedorn said, calling it a “credibility buster.” Alternatively, they can own the situation and work both technically and from a customer experience standpoint to remedy things for the customer, which she called a “credibility booster.”

Adrenaline has worked with BMO Harris in the past, though not in this particular line of business, a company spokeswoman said.

As of today, there is still a banner at the top of BMO Harris’s homepage linking to an information page for customers still experiencing difficulty accessing digital banking services.

A notice from the bank reads:

“A very small percentage of BMO customers recently experienced a technical issue that intermittently affected their online account access. To these customers, we’d like to simply say: we’re sorry. We recognize that this was an inconvenience and that any period of time without access to your account is too long. BMO prides itself on exceptional customer service and the trust we have earned from our customers. We hope you will give us a chance to maintain yours.”