Graham,
First, I'll say that I appreciate your presence on the site to address some members' concerns. I also appreciate that you're a photographer endeavoring to create a superior product, and from a technical perspective, seem to be succeeding. I also appreciate both the challenges of sudden growth and the heartburn that impatient and unreasonably aggressive customers can produce. I also recognize that dealing with angry people starts to wear one down and anyone can have a bad day and sound a little put-off because of it.
That said, I hope you'll take my comments about "bedside manner" in a constructive way. You have no obligation to read them and it's no skin off my nose if you ignore them. 8)
You are a photographer...who chose to become a business man. Like it or not, that means elevating the cordiality and patience in any and all communication -- even with those that are behaving unreasonably. That elevation doesn't require assumption of blame or acquiescence to every angry demand, but it does mean removing emotion from the communication. It means taking the high road every time.
As an operations manager with management of customer care within the scope of my duties, I would be very concerned if a representative of my company, at any level, used sarcasm in a response to a customer on a public forum. Seeing it from a founding member of a company is unsettling.
You might consider the difference between the following responses:
A) "Don't appreciate you throwing us under the bus on our first few manufacturing runs. Thanks for that."
B) "There were certainly challenges in the first few manufacturing runs, and I can understand your concerns. Thanks for your patience and feedback! In the last year, we've implemented three levels of quality control and are confident that the products we're shipping will meet expectations in both quality and performance."
One carries an attitude of "don't let the door hit you on the way out of our store" while the other fosters confidence that your product is backed by people who stand by their customers as much as they stand by their product. With D's post, you had an opportunity to restore good will and even build loyalty (some of our most loyal customers are those who initially had a concern and were impressed by how it was resolved).
I understand that the majority of your customers are highly satisfied. However, there is a subtle but significant difference between overall satisfaction rate and customer service experience. People are easily satisfied when nothing goes wrong. That speaks more to the process than the service, though. Good customer service is defined by how the hiccups and concerns are handled -- even when dealing with the occasional rotten apple -- irrespective of the proportion those issues might represent in the overall satisfaction rate.
Okay...I've blathered on enough. I hope there is something helpful to you in this feedback. Good luck with your product and company.
Captain Preachy-Soapbox signing out...
First, I'll say that I appreciate your presence on the site to address some members' concerns. I also appreciate that you're a photographer endeavoring to create a superior product, and from a technical perspective, seem to be succeeding. I also appreciate both the challenges of sudden growth and the heartburn that impatient and unreasonably aggressive customers can produce. I also recognize that dealing with angry people starts to wear one down and anyone can have a bad day and sound a little put-off because of it.
That said, I hope you'll take my comments about "bedside manner" in a constructive way. You have no obligation to read them and it's no skin off my nose if you ignore them. 8)
You are a photographer...who chose to become a business man. Like it or not, that means elevating the cordiality and patience in any and all communication -- even with those that are behaving unreasonably. That elevation doesn't require assumption of blame or acquiescence to every angry demand, but it does mean removing emotion from the communication. It means taking the high road every time.
As an operations manager with management of customer care within the scope of my duties, I would be very concerned if a representative of my company, at any level, used sarcasm in a response to a customer on a public forum. Seeing it from a founding member of a company is unsettling.
You might consider the difference between the following responses:
A) "Don't appreciate you throwing us under the bus on our first few manufacturing runs. Thanks for that."
B) "There were certainly challenges in the first few manufacturing runs, and I can understand your concerns. Thanks for your patience and feedback! In the last year, we've implemented three levels of quality control and are confident that the products we're shipping will meet expectations in both quality and performance."
One carries an attitude of "don't let the door hit you on the way out of our store" while the other fosters confidence that your product is backed by people who stand by their customers as much as they stand by their product. With D's post, you had an opportunity to restore good will and even build loyalty (some of our most loyal customers are those who initially had a concern and were impressed by how it was resolved).
I understand that the majority of your customers are highly satisfied. However, there is a subtle but significant difference between overall satisfaction rate and customer service experience. People are easily satisfied when nothing goes wrong. That speaks more to the process than the service, though. Good customer service is defined by how the hiccups and concerns are handled -- even when dealing with the occasional rotten apple -- irrespective of the proportion those issues might represent in the overall satisfaction rate.
Okay...I've blathered on enough. I hope there is something helpful to you in this feedback. Good luck with your product and company.
Captain Preachy-Soapbox signing out...
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