You've heard the saying about not being able to fool all the people all the time.
You probably also know then that you can't please all the people all the time too.
It's an impossibility. It doesn't matter how good your content, how wonderful your website or what a great job you do, you're always going to get people who write in and complain.
They'll leave comments that say your post was garbage. They'll complain that they wrote in with a question and five minutes later are still waiting for an answer. They'll insist that you remove all the ads and affiliate links from your Web pages because they get in the way of their browsing.
In short, they don't like you and they want you to know.
It's going to happen and as your site grows, it's going to happen more often.
The complaints themselves aren't important. What is important is how you deal with them.
If a complaint is right and demands action, then move fast to correct the mistake.
That's happened to me more times than I like to remember. I've promoted free downloads that turned out not to be free and placed links in emails that didn't work.
It happens. We're all human. When it happens to you - and it will happen to you - apologize and make amends as quickly as you can. Most people will understand.
You should also be humble enough to learn. There's nothing wrong with making mistakes, but there's a lot wrong with making the same mistake four times. A complainer is a mentor pointing out something you don't know, so take the lesson, add it to your store of knowledge and feel grateful that you're continuing to learn and grow.
And finally, you can do nothing.
If the complainer is being nit-picky, silly or just plain wrong, be big enough to shrug them off and keep going. In fact, you can treat it as a compliment. We all see poor sites every day but we only complain about the ones we think are important.
Get a vindictive complaint then and you might be able to give yourself a pat on the back: you're important enough to moan about.
March 14, 2009 9:51 AM
Customer Complaints are an opportunity to beat the competition.
Joel:
I have valued customer complaints as long as they have had valid points. Some of my best enhancements to products or services were due to the valued input by people with an axe to grind. There all kinds of reasons why people spend the extra energy to complain. It is so far easier to simply grumble and leave,
Other people have other motivations for complaining, such as being lonely. You can't assume. However looking at each complaint is an opportunity to improve for the 90% who don't bother to tell you why they didn't linger and buy.
Its an insider secret that some of the worst complainers can be your best advocates if you let them in your inner circle. Life can be much easier if you have complainers workng with you, than wasting time.
March 14, 2009 10:06 AM
Thanks for a great blog!
And all what you're saying is right. You rock!
Good job with TwitterPower though!
March 14, 2009 10:28 AM
Great post.
I totally agree with you.
My father has always said that 'criticism is someone showing you that they care enough to provide you with feedback'. :)
Regards,
Karl
March 14, 2009 10:34 AM
Hi Joel,
Thank you, great advice
Twicat.com
worlds free classifieds
March 14, 2009 10:41 AM
Joel,
While your post is interesting and engaging, I think it may be missing a few nuances to the story.
1) First and foremost, every complaint is an OPPORTUNITY in disguise. For two reasons:
a) Here you have a person who is engaging with you personally, in a conversation - at a more intimate level than just the transaction. It's your opportunity to shine! You can show them how much you care. Anomalies and mistakes happen. Things go wrong. But HOW you deal with it is a measure of you and your business. (I recently had an experience with HP, trying to buy a power cord on their site. Sigh. The way they dealt with it showed me that they care, but: they don't get it | they're robots |they're clueless | all of the above? which was sad. They could have handled it right and I would have been singing their praises to the high winds on social media!
b) When a complaint happens on a public forum (such as a blog or even more public, twitter and the like, then here's an opportunity to show the public how YOU act. You can't control how the complainant will behave (read:rant), but you can show the world that you're a professional, that you care, and that you're pursuing it as best you can toward a positive outcome. And EVERY piece of dialog is SEO, exposure and buzz.
2) Complaints come in different flavors and shapes. It's important to identify which.
a) It could be that the user is actually trying to give you good feedback (in their eyes at least), and regardless of the tone, they're honestly trying to be helpful or to educate you. Even if you disagree w/them, you can listen and nod.
b) It could be that something you've done has impacted their life. Find out what, and the extent of the impact, and what you can do about it.
c) It could be that they just want you to listen. Don't argue! Just accept their point of view, without necessarily agreeing with it. People want to be heard.
d) It could be that they're missing essential data and their complaint is a mix of frustration with a request for guidance. Soothe the first with a few comforting words, then address the second from your usual mentor persona. You'll gain a fan!
Anyway, I hope this is helpful/useful.
Hey Joel, follow me! @wootheweb
Best,
Greg
http://www.wootheweb.com
@}~`~,~~~
"Marketing is a courtship, not a battle"
PS: Your TwitterPower book is DA BOMB. No complaints there!
March 15, 2009 11:47 PM
I agree with the points you have cited. At times, a complaining customer is just a complaining customer. You can't just please everyone, just be sure you are doing your best and providing quality product or service, then go ahead, meet that complaining customer head on! ;)
March 16, 2009 4:03 PM
You cannot avoid complaints, however there are some that you can simply ignore. Customer complaints can be beneficial if they are constructive criticism, coming from someone with knowledge or experience in the area... customer complaints from uneducated people who are just unhappy with their lives and are spreading their misery are not worth reading. Either way, both can be tough to deal with. The main thing is to learn from your mistake, and as you said, don't make the same one four times!
March 19, 2009 8:45 AM
It's really great to see more and more people switching to a customer based approach. I don't even like to call the customers talking to me complaining anymore. It is always feedback. Feedback that I can evaluate and either do something about if warranted or chalk up to negativity if not.
The first thing I do is take a look at the person who is giving the feedback. My Dad taught me to always consider the source. Then, you can determine if it is someone with a valid complaint and if not just give them a mental hug and a wish for them to be happier over time. It's taken me awhile to get there and some days not so much but it's worth the effort.
Thank you to you Joel again. You are obviously a high caliber and quality person. You prove this over and over again with your contributions. I can't wait to see you at another Peak Potentials event! Keep up the great work.
March 19, 2009 8:54 AM
sometimes complains are good, because if the complains make sense perhaps we can use that to evaluate our services.
March 20, 2009 12:28 PM
Poor customer service would result to dissatisfaction to our clients. A better customer service is by putting yourself in the customers shoe and help them in anyway you can :)
March 27, 2009 7:48 AM
On my site, I make sure I handle every question or complaint with a positive attitude.
Some users email me every other day with things they are not happy with.
April 1, 2009 10:06 AM
If I remember when was working as Sales and Marketing, so many complaints coming at my email inbox from customer, from that point I called them up and explain the situation, after it they understand and we become buddy, in the future everything is clear for sales plan, and having customer complaint is a good one that means he still have trust our credibility.What if the customer never complaints and just leave you and never return??
April 3, 2009 5:55 PM
What's customer support? Customers don't simply write for support out of fun. We are confronted with problem or issue that need to be solved. But most than often of service that is not fulfilled.
It is a sorry situation to be face with programmer that simply ignored all questions. Their support desk are not functioning.
If you promised service give your service, don't make empty promises and damaged the reputation of the true internet marketers.
Joel Comm, your support desk is excellent.
April 12, 2009 10:47 AM
This is happen to me, I got complaint in one day and this is make me crazy, but I will try your advice joel. thanks any way
July 30, 2009 8:41 PM
I think this like living out the age-old adage of "The customer is always right." Well, not always though. I guess even if the customer is being rude and unreasonable (and top it off, incorrect), we still need to learn how to deal with them in a polite way. Customer service, whether online or offline, still have a long way to go in some ways, especially in responding politely to what we may deem as ignorance on the customer's part but still requires attention nonetheless.
June 23, 2010 5:11 PM
Aloha Joel, people want immediate results with figuring things out and watching it work out for them. But some has legitimate complaints and hope they are taken care of so the complaint go away. I think if a company is ethical and in good standing behind there product then there is nothing to worry about. Thanks for sharing! Lani http://www.lanikee.com
PS..I highly thinking of promoting a product of yours, Socrates theme. I'm doing my research on it, to hopefully refer reputable company. Mahalo :)