Where'd the Common Sense Go?
Ok, two stories have come to light this week. The first being this gigantic Price Chopper Fail story that has been written about pretty much everywhere (including here yesterday) in the past two days with absolutely no signs of slowing down. And the second being this one I just came across from @JessicaMalnik about a hotel ousting two guests during their stay because of a negative review on TripAdvisor.
Have people lost their damned minds?
Poor customer service has been around for ages - just take a look at the whole Dominos disaster of yesteryear, or Capri Sun, or Nestle, or BP. But GOOD customer service has also been around for ages. Just because there's this new-fangled contraption called the interwebs out there does not mean that good ol' fashioned rules & common sense go out the window.
As a Community Manager I took this opportunity to write about good Customer Service on my company's blog. It outlines the basic steps of listening to your customers, anticipating their wants, going above and beyond to make sure that they'll come back to you, and managing negativity by acknowledging a problem. The best part is that most of this is probably free, if not close to free.
None of this is any different whether it is offline or online.
Where does the difference lie then?
The difference is the public sphere. Every typed word you place on line will be there forever and ever. You're immortal in your words. Now, will you be remembered? Probably not in most cases, but if someone DID remember you for something, it can be found.
So with that kind of legacy do you want negative things out there? No. Are they going to happen? Yes. It's how you deal with them that showcases you, your poise, your talents, your ability to problem solve, and how you handle yourself in a sticky situation. There are no rule books, but there sure as hell are communication standards.
The lesson to be learned from all of this - people are going to post positive and negative things about you and/or your company online. You can't go after a customer's job by going to their employer to tattle on them (Price Chopper), and you can't kick people out of their hotel room for saying something on line that doesn't portray you in the best light (Golden Beach Hotel).
It is just a backwards way of thinking if you expect people to not publish their opinions on line these days. People want to express their opinions and the internet has given them the vehicle to do so as often and as public as they want. In this great country of ours where we have the Freedom of Speech, simply saying you *shouldn't* place something on line just is not an argument that will stand these days. Instead of wishing these things didn't happen, own up to them and use them to make a better business. Your customers are the lifeblood of your company. Why would you mistreat them?
What CAN You Do?
You CAN bring back common sense. Bring back that golden rule of do unto others that you want done unto you.
You CAN expect that the internet is a small place and people are far more connected than you can imagine. You never know who is connected to whom and will take your seemingly simple act and sent it all ablaze online.
You CAN get upset that someone talks negatively about you/your business. You can also wait 15 minutes and cool down and think things through before doing something that will cause you to be an internet laughing stock. You can also consult your higher level executives before making a mistake.
What you CAN do is ask the disgruntled party to talk privately. Ask them HOW you can make it better. Do you have to take their suggestions? No. No one customer is the authority on how you should run your business, but it makes THAT customer feel better and not incite a world wide campaign against your company.
What you cannot do is get upset that these things are happening publicly & online. That's the point, isn't it?
Have people lost their damned minds?
Poor customer service has been around for ages - just take a look at the whole Dominos disaster of yesteryear, or Capri Sun, or Nestle, or BP. But GOOD customer service has also been around for ages. Just because there's this new-fangled contraption called the interwebs out there does not mean that good ol' fashioned rules & common sense go out the window.
As a Community Manager I took this opportunity to write about good Customer Service on my company's blog. It outlines the basic steps of listening to your customers, anticipating their wants, going above and beyond to make sure that they'll come back to you, and managing negativity by acknowledging a problem. The best part is that most of this is probably free, if not close to free.
None of this is any different whether it is offline or online.
Where does the difference lie then?
The difference is the public sphere. Every typed word you place on line will be there forever and ever. You're immortal in your words. Now, will you be remembered? Probably not in most cases, but if someone DID remember you for something, it can be found.
So with that kind of legacy do you want negative things out there? No. Are they going to happen? Yes. It's how you deal with them that showcases you, your poise, your talents, your ability to problem solve, and how you handle yourself in a sticky situation. There are no rule books, but there sure as hell are communication standards.
The lesson to be learned from all of this - people are going to post positive and negative things about you and/or your company online. You can't go after a customer's job by going to their employer to tattle on them (Price Chopper), and you can't kick people out of their hotel room for saying something on line that doesn't portray you in the best light (Golden Beach Hotel).
It is just a backwards way of thinking if you expect people to not publish their opinions on line these days. People want to express their opinions and the internet has given them the vehicle to do so as often and as public as they want. In this great country of ours where we have the Freedom of Speech, simply saying you *shouldn't* place something on line just is not an argument that will stand these days. Instead of wishing these things didn't happen, own up to them and use them to make a better business. Your customers are the lifeblood of your company. Why would you mistreat them?
What CAN You Do?
You CAN bring back common sense. Bring back that golden rule of do unto others that you want done unto you.
You CAN expect that the internet is a small place and people are far more connected than you can imagine. You never know who is connected to whom and will take your seemingly simple act and sent it all ablaze online.
You CAN get upset that someone talks negatively about you/your business. You can also wait 15 minutes and cool down and think things through before doing something that will cause you to be an internet laughing stock. You can also consult your higher level executives before making a mistake.
What you CAN do is ask the disgruntled party to talk privately. Ask them HOW you can make it better. Do you have to take their suggestions? No. No one customer is the authority on how you should run your business, but it makes THAT customer feel better and not incite a world wide campaign against your company.
What you cannot do is get upset that these things are happening publicly & online. That's the point, isn't it?