Too Little, Too Late?

When something goes wrong with a product or your services, you need to respond right away. Waiting to make a statement or make things right only serve to frustrate your customers and make them think you don’t really care about them.

Even if it takes some time for you to fix what went wrong, you should respond to problems right away. Let people know you’re working them. Tell them you’ll try to fix things as soon as possible.

Just don’t stay silent. Your silence will say much more than you mean it to.

Speaking up and offering support or help to get problems fixed can positively impact your company. Even more so if the original problem wasn’t yours to begin with. Remember Dave Carroll and the “United Breaks Guitars” song? Bob Taylor from Taylor Guitars offered to replace or further repair Carroll’s guitar. And they’ve posted a YouTube video giving tips for traveling musicians, more information on their web site, and now offer repair services for other guitar brands as well.

Now how’s that for speaking up and creating a positive image for your company?

In contrast, United took almost a year to address Carroll’s concerns. In a statement, he mentioned that he declined United’s settlement offer, hoping that they’d donate the money to charity. Carroll claims to not be interested in the money, but in getting United to change their ridiculous policies that require so many hoops.

Most people would give up well before Carroll did. And that seems to be what most companies hope will happen. Make the complaint process hard, people who don’t have time will just give up. When people persist, the company may just offer a concession. If you’re lucky.

Which company would you rather emulate? Taylor or United? I really hope you say Taylor, and find ways to market your company accordingly.

Dave Carroll image courtesy of davecarrollmusic.com