Week 3A - Communication - Business & Consumer

Have you ever experienced difficulty communicating with a business? 
I've had experiences where arrogance took over and the business owner didn't care that much about the complaint.  I remember an experience I had taking my young daughter to a dermatologist to have a wart removed from her thumb. She cried and pulled her hand back because this was the second attempt to have it frozen. She remembered how much it hurt the first time and in anticipation, she pulled away. The doctor walked out of the room and with no explanation, never came back. I gave him a review on Yelp just explaining our experience and how disappointing it was and I received a bill from his office.

I do believe social media can be a virtual megaphone to get noticed and to get a problem solved. If one uses social media for a complaint, and the business owner cares and is paying attention, they will most likely try to remedy the situation. I also like good old fashioned phone calls enacted calmly, and reasonably, to seek a solution.

Have you ever had a positive experience communicating with a business through social media? 
I have had positive 'outcomes' settling an issue through social media, however, I think the threat of the potential damage a person can do to business over social media scares business owners so they will pretty much do anything not to experience the negative social backlash. As the old adage goes, 'it's easier to keep a client than to find a new one.' I host vacation rental properties, and 5-star,  reviews are at the heart of my business. I can't see my guests' review until we mutually post, then the reviews are released. If I don't get a 5-star, I reach out to my guest and ask how I could have made and improved their stay.

How would I respond to positive or negative comments? I'm using my two vacation rental properties as an example for this exercise because I receive multiple reviews a week. When I receive a positive review it is usually expounding on the exact areas of the experience I am hoping they receive and they have voiced it directly to me in person so I don't respond online - probably something I should rethink. When I receive a three or four-star review I respond immediately asking what went wrong. With the rare occasion of those lower reviews, I read what they have written and reach out to let them know I care. Sometimes, they just want to be heard and other times they're just miffed and I can't do anything.

What made the experience negative or positive? As I mentioned in the last line, I think it's really important to hear people and what matters to them. Do I think people bring a bad attitude into any given situation? Sure. Do I think there are legitimate complaints? Sure. I think going forward, everyone has to take responsibility on both sides with social media. It is so easy to say whatever we want through a keyboard that we wouldn't say in person or over the phone.