So I’m sitting waiting to meet with my banker the other day and found myself getting both impatient and annoyed.
She was now 15 minutes late for our appointment and I can see her still with another client.
Normally, I’m a patient dude, but it annoyed me that she never got up and gave me the courtesy of a quick apology and an ETA.
With no one at the bank showing signs of giving a damn, I turn to my trusty I-Phone and type out a rather abrasive status update and then stopped myself.
Why?
Because its not my style. I don’t believe that poor service is an excuse for Paul Castain to “out” an organization but I digress . . .
Within a minute of my aborted status update, my banker came over to me and apologized. Within 3 minutes I was sitting with her and she explained how she is the only banker available today and how crazy things were.
Good enough for me. Within minutes we were back to being like “peas and carrots”!
Things don’t always work out that way though!
Our society is not only all about the instant gratification, its now “instant bitching” if we can’t be instantly gratified.
Think I’m kidding?
Take a look at what people are constantly holding in their hands these days.
The smartphone has become the permanent companion of our society and guess what?
People love to bitch about poor service, rude people, high prices, inferior products and even companies in general.
They’re doing it via their status updates and check this out . . .
They can reach anywhere from a few hundred to tens of thousands . . . within seconds!
So here’s the million dollar question . . .
Is your company aware of the speed of dissatisfaction?
Do you listen via social media for dissatisfaction with not only your company . . .
How about your competitor’s?
Losing a customer because you didn’t hear their cry for help is inexcusable!
Failure to gain a client because you didn’t hear their cry for help is too!
Consumers aren’t just voting with their wallets . . .
today they are voting via their status updates!
The cell phone has become a weapon and customers are using it against companies every day. What used to be a 1:1 interaction between a customer and a company is now 1:many. If you want the stories your customers tell to be good ones, provide good service.
Yep . . . and its all happening in the time it takes to write a status update.
Thanks Randi!
Oh I have felt like you in the past, trust me. Banks are acceptable I guess (perhaps things work different here in Italy, but waiting at the bank for 30 minutes or more is kinda the norm), but what I really can’t stand is doctor appointments, the ones you pay (a lot) for, mind you. I can’t stand waiting 45 minutes for an appointment I know will cost me 200 bucks or more, ok I don’t go crying on social networks either (actually, nobody would care, thinking about it :p) but my point is, everyone has something which can tick him off, how we react to it makes the real difference. My golden rule is stopping, thinking 10 minutes, and deciding with a cold mind.
Sad but true. Plus folks are more likely to go public with complaint or rant, than they are with a compliment. So important to manage the image as well as the process.
Why can’t we all just play nicely? Be more patient, be more considerate, be more understanding. It is not that difficult.
I think there is a tremendous opportunity in all of this Marc!
First, it forces all of us to raise the bar when it comes to the service we provide because whether I agree or not, people can and will go to their status updates to voice their thoughts.
Second, perhaps we can look for these opportunities on social media and “court” them?
Thanks for stopping by Marc!
Mobile technology, Twitter, Facebook, texting and more has given all of us a global voice and many people just aren’t holding back from ratting out the companies that deliver sub-par services.
While I agree that everyone could learn to be little more patient and understanding, I also believe that because negative service experiences far outweigh the positive ones, people have just plain had it. Costs have increased, service has decreased and customers are often treated as if they are bothersome waste of time. Companies need to wake themselves up out of their self-centered, internally focused, complacent coma’s and make some changes. Paul, I’ve been tempted to out people and companies who frankly deserved it, but that’s not my style either. At the same time, I think you were quite gracious to forgive your banker. Yes, things happen, but the fact that she was the only one there is still no excuse for keeping you waiting 15+ minutes when you had a scheduled appointment. If she was running late did it not occur to her to call you? I just think that it is up to her to better manage her schedule. I have never kept a client waiting like that, and I’m betting that you haven’t either.
Don’t even get me started again on my banker. I was pissed beyond anything you could imagine.
Professionals just don’t act like that.
It was a huge wake up call for me in two ways Barb:
1) Not that we would conduct ourselves like that, but look how easy it is for someone to tell the world we suck.
2) Look how easy it is for a savvy jedi to find opportunities via Social Media.
Thanks Barb . . . know any good bankers up in my neck of the woods 🙂
I agree but will tell you that the trend is that more and more people are turning to social media to vent and seek validation through their own “tribes”.
I see that as a tremendous wake up call for us all to provide a higher level of service and to look for these opportunities via social media.
Thanks Gabriele!
Great article, Paul! My mind is racing with ideas on how to spread this message to our organization!
Thank you Becky . . . I really appreciate it and wish you lots of luck with your ideas!
Go get ’em!
Great post Paul,
I think social media is going to help with poor service everywhere. Companies wont have the choice anymore.
I believe it will get to the point where if a company has bad service, and it is out there on the internet, then either they move up their standards or the people doing business with them will be the very few that don’t use social media which I believe will be the minority, and these businesses will barely be able to survive.
Great point Peter.
This is yet another testimonial for those who “don’t get” social media to start “getting it” right quick!
Thank you!
While it sucks to be on the receiving end of a discontented client’s or prospect’s rage, it’s also a great opportunity for sales professionals.
We’ve all heard stories about forward-thinking companies who stave off a tirade only to win back a customer who becomes more loyal than previously thought possible. The key there is that they see beyond the initial emotion to the opportunity to win back the customer. If the relationship’s made right, the kid in us comes back and after a sufficient time to sulk, we can forgive.
Unfortunately, many companies ignore the buzz and then wonder why their customers disappear.
May we be ever mindful that in order to keep raving fans, we need to stay in touch and to embrace them when they’re raving mad. And, like Paul, may we hesitate to pull the trigger when things don’t go our way.
Thanks for another great lesson, and post, Paul!
Another great post Paul! And like you say, people like to bitch more than they like to say nice things. The benefit of this global outlet for updates should make companies who don’t respect every one of their Customers really get nervous!.
For what ever reason, I was not blessed with a ton of patience, I am sometimes quick to judge..another common mistake! I’m trying a new tact for me…in very situation, instead of flying off the handle or bitching about something (which does no good for anybody)…I now try to “Harvest the Good”. The more good you harvest the more good you will see in everything!
Cheers!
Larry
I couldn’t agree with you more Larry!
As for my temper, I’ve been embracing a calmer gentler Uncle Paul now for
about 2 years and its made all the difference . . . still a challenge for me at times, but its made a huge difference for me 🙂
Thanks for stopping by Larry . . . I always appreciate your insight!
You’re so right John . . . it’s a great opportunity for sales professionals both in how they treat and react to their customers and how they can begin to “court” their competitor’s clients.
Clues in the form of “cries for help” are everywhere in social media . . . we just all have to learn to shut up long enough to listen for them!
Thank you John!
Great post Paul! As awesome as it is that great news travels fast, as fate would have it, bad news tends to travel even faster. What is the old saying… if you have a great experience you tell one or two people, but if you have a bad experience you tell five to ten? My numbers may be off, but you get my point! Have a great evening.
I wrote a blog recently on a similar topic. What people tend to miss is that what constituents good communication for one person isn’t for the next. You exercised more self-control than many people would have (as I do with the woman at City Hall where I pay my utility bill who never says ‘hello’). A friend recently visited the new pizza place in town (very small town) and had bad service. She immediately went on FB and told everyone of her experience. The owner didn’t take the opportunity to correct the problem, and she didn’t recon with the power of social media to harm or help her business.