Without giving away names (blogs or Twitter handles) and to protect the “not-so-innocent,” I’ll keep it general, but you’ll get the point of this shortly.
The first incident involves a blogger (actually both involve bloggers—I’m sensing a theme here). The blogger went to a store to research some of the new inventory, which had been hyped by the corporate office and publicized via traditional media and perhaps some advertising. This blogger had intentions of taking some pictures and promoting, via his blog, the great selection of this new item at the store. Seems like a nice thing to do. Free advertising—what business wouldn’t want that?
That’s where it gets interesting. This blogger was rudely told by a store manager not to take pictures with a cell phone—not because it was store policy but because this manager “said so.” Naturally, the blogger was quite upset, especially because his intentions had been good and noble. So, what did he do after leaving the store? You guessed it…blogged. But, this blogger didn’t just write a blog, he tweeted about his experience immediately—before even reaching his car—and to hundreds of followers who had the same level of interest in the item the store was promoting. The followers rallied around the blogger and swore to never set foot in the store. And, because the door to shame was already open, they ranted about other things they didn’t like at the store. Staff rudeness was a common theme. Not good news for that store or its products.
The next story is similar but instead of a store, the target was a restaurant. This particular blogger asked for some alterations to the dishes on the menu because of severe food allergies. Instead of taking the few extra steps to accommodate the requests, the chef (yes, the chef!), made a rude remark to the customer about the restaurant not being a “make-your-own-kind of place.” And you can guess what transpired from there. It started with some tweets and elevated to an open letter to the restaurant posted on the customer’s blog, of course, which was also tweeted—and retweeted and retweeted. Not only did the blogger share this negative experience, she praised other restaurants who had previously accommodated her requests and planned to only patronize those establishments from that point forward. What a great way to hand over a customer on a silver platter to your competitor.
You see, bloggers don’t wear ID badges or “press passes” everywhere they go. You won’t know who they are or where they are, but trust me, they are EVERYWHERE. If you don’t know one, you surely know someone who reads blogs, comments on them or shares them. Social media is changing the rules of customer service. Businesses—be it a store, restaurant or manufacturer of widgets—should understand that customers are everywhere and any one of those customers has the ability to spread his or her opinion about you far and wide—and fast. There isn’t time to make your mistake right before it’s been splashed all over a blog or retweeted 10 times to many thousands (or millions) of people.
Aside from this, business owners and managers need to make sure employees know store policies, be trained to communicate them and understand that every comment and action, whether positive or negative, can be shared instantly via social media. If your business uses QR codes, make sure your employees understand that it’s okay for customers to use a cell phone to take a picture of a product. Encourage it. You might get some free advertising out of it.
It’s no longer buyer beware, but business beware. In today’s society, not only are customers always right, they have more avenues than ever – as well as almost unlimited reach – to communicate when a company gets it wrong.
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Hollie Geitner is vice president, Client Services for WordWrite Communications. You can find her on Twitter @JustHollieG
