It's part of modern customer service these days to reply to customers on Twitter. Tesco is just one of several big brands to send messages like these almost constantly:
@DanielleEren I'm sorry Danielle. I've contacted the store and passed on your feedback. They'll look into this further. Thanks. - Mart
@daveycam89 Sorry about this Cameron, please can you return them to store for a full refund? - Nick
@shelleyslatte Hi Lucy, we do sell Magic Stars Hot Chocolate! http://t.co/ZQX8wvTiYG Would you like me to check your local store? - Becky
So far, so good. But then a parody account – @Tecso_Express – popped up last week, offering some rogue sweary customer service to real Tesco customers.
It started off quite tame, extolling the virtues of mint-chocolate ice cream.
But then @daleord got a serving of sass.
@LoopyBoylan got the sharp end of the attitude stick.
This person who applied for jobs at both Tesco and its deadly rival ASDA got short shrift.
This sensible question about vouchers was completely rejected.
There was an explanation for all the mess in one store.
This strident defence of 17p lemonade.
This ode to Rob.
This was quite a reasonable point made to Josh.
@Tecso_Express's tweets are full of disparaging remarks about rival supermarkets and the people who shop there.
And then, er, this happened ...
The person quitting their Tesco job got the treatment you would, by now, expect.
And this response to Helen could be described as "to the point".
Tesco (the real one) is aware of the parody account and has told at least one customer not to confuse it with the real thing.
@shaunbentley Hi Shaun, I'm sorry to hear that. The Tecso_Express account is not a genuine Tesco account. 1/2
Tesco said in a statement: "Parody accounts do spring up from time to time. Customers wanting to contact our rather more helpful customer service team can do so through @Tesco."
The fun's over: Marketing Week reports that the account has been suspended after Twitter challenged it to change its profile picture, background image and name within 48 hours.