Business Complaints Online
Determining how to handle complains about your business online can be very tricky. You don’t want to come across defense but at the same time you need to reach out to those negative comments to fix them. Opening up the channel of communication to the consumers doesn’t just allow the positive remarks for to be ‘thankful’ for but to try and understand all views of the customers.
I read last week an Associated Press story, “Turning to Twitter to fix restaurant complaints“.
When Tony Bosco saw mostly negative reviews about the restaurant Wow Bao, he Tweeted: “Going to ‘business’ dinner (at)Wow Bao. Can any1 tell me if it’s going to suck as much reviews suggest.”
And almost immediately he got a response from an unexpected source — BaoMouth, the official Twitter feed of Wow Bao, an upscale fast food place in Chicago. The restaurant offered him a coupon to find out for himself, on the house.
Wow Bao sent Bosco two $15 gift cards via an iPhone app, and Bosco went the next night, posting pictures of the food on Twitter.
So, can your business afford to do this – it can become quite costly yet Wow Bao has a terrific outlook on it:
Geoff Alexander, managing partner of Wow Bao, explained his company’s Twitter commitment like this: If somebody has 1,000 followers and writes a negative Tweet about Wow Bao, then 1,000 people could think the restaurant is bad. But if Wow Bao publicly responds to that Tweet, 1,000 people may see the issue is being handled.
The question of the day is: How is your business using social media when it comes to negative reviews/comments? Are you going to be silent or active?
