To write a bad review or not? That is the question

[Rifraf]

After an incident today at work where a customer told me she just has to write a review on some media or other I wanted to see how others feel.

Now don't get me wrong she's pissed that her product broke after just buying it last year and our tech was there in December and she called in today and discovered no one had ordered it. One of my purchasers forgot or otherwise dropped the ball and it never got ordered. She states my department is incompetent and all need fired and she's going to write a negative review.

I'm not uncaring and my customers are my #1 priority (I feel like an idiot even though I didn't do wrong personally, but it's my company you're talking badly about), but I usually find that the customers with the least critical problem are the most..........unreasonable. I get it. I apologized over and over. I rush ordered it. We'll get it fixed. But some people act like it's the end of the world. So she has to write a bad review to let everyone know.

Now maybe I'm weak minded or don't stand up for myself as I can't generally spare the interest to do something similar and for the most part I haven't really been in this situation I guess or one that warrants getting so bent about. But does writing a bad review fill some sort of need that a person is otherwise missing? Do you feel powerful that you put your blistering condemnation of us down in writing for all to see? You still have our product in your home. If something happens down the road you'll call us again to fix it. So what exactly did writing a bad review accomplish? A bit extreme, but if we go out of business then no one will be here to work on your product.

So, do others here write negative reviews? What do you feel it does for you? For others? Would you do it if you had to identify yourself as opposed to being anonymous? If we sell $30 million in product a year and have 10 bad reviews over a $100 part then it can't all be that bad. Yes, I comprehend the damage a bad review does, but damn.

 

[CABAL]

On the occasion that I write a review, I try to be honest and describe the good and bad aspects of the product rather than raving about how much I like the product or ranting about how much I hate it. For instance, I don't like Apple, their desktop OS, their mice, their keyboards, or their main systems, but I acknowledge that they make some fantastic monitors (if they weren't using a proprietary connection, I might buy one), that my dislike for their UI is largely personal preference, and that their computers require much less maintenance, both for the software and the hardware.

In this case, I would probably say that an employee made a mistake that caused problems down the line, but tech support was helpful and accommodating. I'm not sure that it says as much about the company as it does those two employees.

 

[MrVulcan]

I have been in a situation where I considered leaving a "bad review", but only for the short duration on my way back to my computer. After a while, severity of the incident appeared not so critical, and more could be gained by not saying anything at all; they know they messed up, so why make things worse. Why make me a target by distracting them from fixing their mistakes? Sure it is a little unfair that I had to put up with the inconvenience, but I can imagine that some day I will be on the other side of this equation... err, inequality. I personally know many nice people that can't accept this and will fume for hours over something that I consider a minor annoyance... I suppose one has to draw somewhere a line between the need to speak up, and and the need to accept people's mistakes.

Having said that, I do leave constructive reviews when I feel that my experience rates somewhere between 2 and 4 "stars"; make reading the review worthwhile.

I tend to ignore any 1 start or 5 star reviews because they are almost never helpful when trying to order something, or pick a place to eat, etc. Assuming that most people are like that too, a downright bad review from this person is not going to change much for the company. Sometimes I do read the 1-star reviews on, say, amazon, just for laughs; so many of them betray the writer of their own silliness; like "I bought this laptop, its slow and battery doesn't last, and can't play games" on a $250 laptop... no really, what did they expect when they bought it.

I'd say, don't be tempted to write a bad review for this customer. If you do come across their review on "some media", and if within your discretion in the company to respond to the reviews, you can briefly explain the issue, and accept the error, etc... It will more than offset the customer's negative comment.

 

[CABAL]

I tend to ignore any 1 start or 5 star reviews because they are almost never helpful when trying to order something, or pick a place to eat, etc. Assuming that most people are like that too, a downright bad review from this person is not going to change much for the company. Sometimes I do read the 1-star reviews on, say, amazon, just for laughs; so many of them betray the writer of their own silliness; like "I bought this laptop, its slow and battery doesn't last, and can't play games" on a $250 laptop... no really, what did they expect when they bought it.

When ordering computer parts (there seriously are no good parts stores in the entire Eugene-Springfield area so I need to shop online) I do look for a large number of one star "DOA" reviews. A few are always expected, though, and most people who write a one star review are just blowing smoke. Complaining that a case fan rated 60dB is loud, for instance, or that an extremely busy restaurant didn't have their dinner to them within ten minutes.

 

[LordChicken]

I do not recall ever writing a bad review (I could have at one point but I do not recall), the few times I have had to call and have customer service take care of something for me, I am usually satisfied. The few reviews I do recall writing are usually constructive, similar to what Cabal stated.

As someone who works in customer service I get where you are coming from about customers. Some people seem to get a power trip about "I'm gonna write a bad review." I do everything in my power to try and satisfy all of my customers regardless of what their current attitude about the situation.

From my perspective it is ok to be upset that something that should have been done isn't or is not meeting your or the customer's expectations. But going out of your way as the customer to not acknowledge great customer service when you are receiving it is really frustrating as the one providing it. The customers who are calm but upset are the best because they recognize you are going to take care of them and solve their problem. They tend to be the most happy after you get their problem solved. Now if everyone had that approach when dealing with customer service representatives, I believe their problems would get solved FASTER.

I am sure I am just preaching to the choir at this point, but I believe I made my point without getting too rambly.

 

[CrazyFrog1903]

I have written a few reviews in my past. Most customers will notice the bad reviews BUT they will notice how you respond to them even more. On most reviews you have the ability to respond. Responding in a kind and courteous manner will help.

When you deal with a customer like that you can also ask them how you could make changes to improve the situation so it never happens again. Showing that you want to be proactive to future problems would help as well.

Dell was not #1 in customer support because their product was perfect. They did it based on how they reacted towards the customers.

I have had to give negative reviews before I was very specific on where the problems were so they could be fixed and if someone was able to fix it I made sure to give them credit for doing what the others failed at.