Words like knives
A friend of mine, who owns a small business, was very upset recently because she had received several bad online reviews from people who (by their own admission) had never used her services. The reviews were written in support of a third party, who had asked people to “rate down” the business. I watched, unable to do much to help, as she struggled to restore the good image of her business, and learned just how much power rests in the keyboards of users.
Everyone has had bad service and bad experiences with businesses. I will drag out my horror story of the restaurant that made errors in 4 out of 6 meals and failed to deliver a fifth, and then refused to do anything to correct the problem. (If anyone wants the full details, I’ll happily share with you if you promise never to visit that location.) We’ve all encountered the surly salesperson who is rude and unhelpful; the waiter who messed up orders repeatedly and the restaurant that lost reservations. As internet denizens, we can fire off an angry review in seconds, and leave blistering reviews with a click. That translates, sometimes, into self-righteous tirades directed at front line staff — the loud demands to “speak to a manager, now!!”
In reading online reviews, I find that the negative ones are fairly often displaying offence at an inconvenience— a 1-star rating for a hotel explained that it was because the wind and waves (at a seaside location) were too noisy. For a restaurant, a 1-star rating complained that the salad dressing was too tart for their salad. Another gave a 1-star rating because “the handmade dumplings were not uniform in shape and were very stuffed.” I wish that I made these up, I do! A lot of them also include comments that suggest they did nothing to seek correction while they were there, but instead went online to vent their annoyance broadly.
My experience is that I generally get spectacularly good service no matter where I shop, and part of that might be because I return to places where I’ve had positive experiences. If I’ve had a poor reception, I will try to communicate with the staff to seek a resolution and most times it’s helped improve things. But the places where I shop have staff who are friendly, professional, helpful and fun to be around. It’s a running joke that I have followed an employee from one branch to another, and even to other businesses, simply because I’ve become friends with them and they have looked after me as a person, not just a series of transactions. I’ve got to know some of them pretty well over the years, from the chef at a small restaurant who would call to let me know when the vegetables in his garden were ready for harvesting to my #evilfriendinretail who will select things for me to try and let me into the store before opening so I can shop without rushing.
I generally leave honest reviews, but if I had a problem that I would try to resolve it offline first. I’ve asked for the names of managers so that I could email comments on the service that I received and I generally get a response that shows that my comments were heard. I’ve also heard that the positive feedback is passed on to the people who did good work, so it spreads warmth and happiness around. Especially in small businesses, the owners tend to appreciate being told (quietly) about weaknesses and will work to correct them... if they don’t they won’t be around long!
After the episode with my friend, it’s become more important to me to guard my online interactions. The businesses that are reviewed have real people behind them, who are affected by the comments that are shared. A former manger of mine once said that it was necessary to give people a chance to correct their mistakes; that it was unkind to think that they were irredeemably stupid when we disagreed with them (or they had made a mistake in dealing with us.) Could I suggest instead giving them a chance to make things right? Also ask yourself if your complaint is real or a personal quirk — like being annoyed because leaves on a tree in a park have dust on them (another actual complaint!). Don’t be that person, please!!
Everyone has had bad service and bad experiences with businesses. I will drag out my horror story of the restaurant that made errors in 4 out of 6 meals and failed to deliver a fifth, and then refused to do anything to correct the problem. (If anyone wants the full details, I’ll happily share with you if you promise never to visit that location.) We’ve all encountered the surly salesperson who is rude and unhelpful; the waiter who messed up orders repeatedly and the restaurant that lost reservations. As internet denizens, we can fire off an angry review in seconds, and leave blistering reviews with a click. That translates, sometimes, into self-righteous tirades directed at front line staff — the loud demands to “speak to a manager, now!!”
In reading online reviews, I find that the negative ones are fairly often displaying offence at an inconvenience— a 1-star rating for a hotel explained that it was because the wind and waves (at a seaside location) were too noisy. For a restaurant, a 1-star rating complained that the salad dressing was too tart for their salad. Another gave a 1-star rating because “the handmade dumplings were not uniform in shape and were very stuffed.” I wish that I made these up, I do! A lot of them also include comments that suggest they did nothing to seek correction while they were there, but instead went online to vent their annoyance broadly.
My experience is that I generally get spectacularly good service no matter where I shop, and part of that might be because I return to places where I’ve had positive experiences. If I’ve had a poor reception, I will try to communicate with the staff to seek a resolution and most times it’s helped improve things. But the places where I shop have staff who are friendly, professional, helpful and fun to be around. It’s a running joke that I have followed an employee from one branch to another, and even to other businesses, simply because I’ve become friends with them and they have looked after me as a person, not just a series of transactions. I’ve got to know some of them pretty well over the years, from the chef at a small restaurant who would call to let me know when the vegetables in his garden were ready for harvesting to my #evilfriendinretail who will select things for me to try and let me into the store before opening so I can shop without rushing.
I generally leave honest reviews, but if I had a problem that I would try to resolve it offline first. I’ve asked for the names of managers so that I could email comments on the service that I received and I generally get a response that shows that my comments were heard. I’ve also heard that the positive feedback is passed on to the people who did good work, so it spreads warmth and happiness around. Especially in small businesses, the owners tend to appreciate being told (quietly) about weaknesses and will work to correct them... if they don’t they won’t be around long!
After the episode with my friend, it’s become more important to me to guard my online interactions. The businesses that are reviewed have real people behind them, who are affected by the comments that are shared. A former manger of mine once said that it was necessary to give people a chance to correct their mistakes; that it was unkind to think that they were irredeemably stupid when we disagreed with them (or they had made a mistake in dealing with us.) Could I suggest instead giving them a chance to make things right? Also ask yourself if your complaint is real or a personal quirk — like being annoyed because leaves on a tree in a park have dust on them (another actual complaint!). Don’t be that person, please!!
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