Nearly gone are the days of talking with a real person when trying to contact a large business. At times, if you do get a real person on the phone, They work for an outsourced call center. They have limited knowledge and resources available to actually be of assistance. In my younger years, a phone call and/or a written letter sent through the mail were your best course of action.
Today, we can call, email, chat, direct website and social medial access give the consumer more power and options. I can use social media (SM) platforms and "Hashtags" to get noticed by a company. None of them want negative publicity. So, if I have a problem with a product or service. I can jump on SM. Putting the company on blast for all the world to see. Most companies, if paying attention, will jump on this immediately in an effort to resolve the issue and squelch the negative. They will want to show the world that they are actively concerned about the customers satisfaction, not only with the product, but the service.
Positive posts can result in perks. Companies have offered rewards such as discounts, coupons and free merchandise for positive reviews. I bought a product from Amazon. I liked it, so I left a positive review for them. The retailer sent me an email with a list of products (4 items) to chose from as a thank you for the review. It took forever4 to get the product. I think it came from China. But, I eventually received it.
Forty years ago, word of mouth was the best way to pass positive or negative reviews about a business. You could even write a letter to the local newspaper in hopes of its publication for others to read. Usually, this kept reviews of a company confined to a small geographical area. SM and the Internet of things changed all that. Now we can broadcast to the world, from anywhere in the world, at any time.
In general, I like to leave positive feedback for a business. If I buy a product or service and its really good, I want people to know. I want my friends and family to have the same experience. On the other hand, following that same principle with a bad product or service. I may take that to the next level. Especially, if I have made efforts to work with the business to resolve my issue and I am still dissatisfied. In August, I purchased a product. It malfunctioned about a month ago. I contacted the retailer, The retailer informed me that the product was outside their time line for returns and I would have to contact the manufacturer. I jumped on the manufacturer's website. I quickly found how to contact them and the info they required. They quickly contacted me back and asked that I send them the product and they will replace it free of charge. The manager even called me to follow up on my satisfaction of the process. Nice job iOGEAR!!!
If I had a business on SM I'd like to think that I would handle the good and the bad in a positive manner. Positive comments and reviews may be met with some sort of incentive for a person taking the time to basically give free positive advertisement.
Negative comments or reviews need to be handled delicately. Determine what the specific issue is and try to rectify it as soon as possible. Be sure the consumer is satisfied. I may even ask them to retract the negative and replace it with a positive review. In some cases, it may be too late and the damage is done. I would strive to rectify any situation which might lead to a negative comment or review.
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