Denial

One of the most important aspects of customer service is the ability to actively listen to customers and their concerns about your business, service or product. This responsibility falls to everyone in every company! However, the inability or refusal to listen and effectively respond to the concerns or complaints of customers can be the death knell for any business. It’s not that the customer is always right – too often the customer is NOT right. But they have a perspective on what a business does and how they act, perform, or support what they sell that can not be fully understood and recognized when you own or operate the business.

 

A customer’s use of a product or service creates an implied contract between them and the one providing that product or service. Money is exchanged. It is further implied that there will be certain level of quality provided in exchange for that money. Unfortunately, when the quality quotient is not met it leaves a bad taste in the mouth of the one who paid for that product or service.

 

It stands to reason that the maker/provider wants their consumers to like what they do. Consumers and businesses benefit when positive feedback is provided. However, what happens when the one providing that service or product doesn’t place the same value on your experience with their goods? What happens when they don’t want to make the situation right, are in denial or don’t think your complaints are valid or worthy of their time and effort to makes things better?

 

With so many review websites covering just about any commercial product or service, word about failures and shortcomings gets around fast. The speed at which a negative review can be posted and seen by so many can have a dramatic and negative impact on one’s business very rapidly. Doesn’t it make good business-sense for an owner/operator and their employees to investigate negative experiences by their customers, take them seriously and take the necessary actions to prevent recurrence of those issues?

 

Because many consumers rely on review sites to help them make “informed” choices of where and with whom they spend their money, it’s imperative for business owners to be responsive to their customers who post anything about them. If “Bob and Pat” (fictitious couple) are attending a corporate retreat and had a great time at the “hotel on the river” and post something positive about their experiences, other consumers will see what they wrote and consider those opinions in their decision making. The owners/managers of that hotel would certainly benefit from writing a thank you for the customers’ kind words. Doing so conveys appreciation that their customers spent money at their establishment. It also conveys good will and respect.

 

But if Bob and Pat found the hotel lacking in one or more aspects that negatively impacted their stay, their negative comments on those same websites will undoubtedly influence others not to stay there. And if our couple isn’t traveling alone such as on their corporate retreat or meeting up with family or friends at this same hotel and things weren’t “right” for others as well, then the online complaints and negative reviews grow exponentially, hurting that business even more. If the owners don’t take the time to address the complaints via their ability to post follow-up comments on those same websites, other readers will likely think the owners don’t care enough about their customers to address concerns and make things right. Their business will suffer because of this lack of attention to the customers perspective, experiences and feelings. The Hospitality Industry is just one example of an industry that is frequently in denial of its customers’ complaints, however denial exists in every industry to one degree or other!

 

Certainly, being a responsive business owner takes time and effort. And the reality of these times is that there are staff shortages in a great many industries including hospitality. This limits resources for any business owner or operator to be as responsive to complaints or customer issues as might be their preference. Under these circumstances, it is also less likely that a positive review will generate a “thank you” from the business, that generates good will and can influence a customer to return.

 

Some industries and businesses are better at taking customers comments more seriously than others. Reading software forums and the responses from developers, for example, to both positive and negative comments, is a reminder that a proper and timely response can turn a negative perspective or frustration into a positive experience. A company taking the time to address their customer’s issues can alter their customer’s perspective.

 

Most of us have some experience dealing with a customer service issue of one kind or another. Whether it’s a billing question, service issue or problem with a product, the way that a company handled your concerns had a direct influence on your continuing to do business with them or not, or at least the way you felt about that company. In the dark ages when we handled our complaints over the phone rather than the internet, another human would hear our issue and (hopefully) try to make the situation better. While filling out complaint forms or service tickets on the internet isn’t necessarily fun or more efficient for the customer, doing so enables the company to handle more issues with fewer staff. But in reality, it doesn’t always translate to better service or issue resolution.

 

Whether you choose to make your opinions known via a review site or directly with a company, it remains important that consumers take the time to convey their issues and experiences to the people with whom they do business. Positive and negative. The businesses that are responsive to their customer’s experiences and work to resolve issues will have made a positive impression that fosters business growth and returning customers. Ultimately, those businesses that don’t respond will suffer the consequences of being in denial.

 

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