Soliciting Critical Reviews - why would you want to do that?

While stood inline at my favorite local coffee store, (they keep the country running!) I overheard a conversation about quality of service. It was easy to join in and so it became a three way conversation.

The topic was the value of the customer in the eye of the salesperson. One of the women mentioned the absurdity of the Customer saying 'Thank You' when the Salesperson delivers the goods or services. "Why isn't it the other way around?" She has a good point.

When you pickup your Chicken meal at the drive through, do you say 'Thank You' and does the Cashier return the thanks? Probably they do not.

Another comment suggested that we live in a high density city, there is a McD's on every corner with a Chicken drive through opposite and a dinner between them. Consequently, the competition for customers is pretty high, and it's a numbers game. The more customers you get, the less the other companies get!

However, if you go to a more sparsely populated rural area, the sales person is likely to stand at the door and welcome you into the store before you even turn towards the entrance!

So what's the difference? Does it really take too much time for the salesperson to say 'Thanks for shopping with us today" and if it was uttered as an automated instruction that all salespeople must obey, would it have any value?

I would suggest that it should be normal to say thanks no matter which side of the counter you are standing. It's a personality thing. I certainly hope that it doesn't deteriorate downwards to just another extension of the corporate 'Customer Greeting Policy'

The conversation turned to discussing customer feedback, now we were in an area in which I'm well practiced.

Most people will comment on their experience to a friend or neighbor, but they are more likely to spread the comment when it's a negative experience. So why would you solicit a Critical Review? Of course, you know the reason, many don't and few really value that type of review!

If you go into a bar that has a long tradition of serving customers, you might see dollar bills stapled to the wall with a positive comment on the bill. But you'll rarely see a bill with a negative comment. Ok, so you might have read one of those messages that states "Jim and Jane got trashed here" but it was probably a positive comment. You're unlikely to see a dollar bill stapled to the wall with a message like "The Beer was Flat, the bathrooms dirty, we'll never come back again", not even if it was cool to have flat beer and the bathrooms were over 200 years old and authentic.

The positive review makes the business feel good, and they do tell others the positive aspects of the business. But even the best business misses the mark sometimes, and the whirlwind of negative comments around the local condo swimming pool could make a significant dent in the companies business.

So how to you avoid that kind of negative publicity? It's not that tough to do.

• First: You have to solicit the Critical Review... So make sure that you are open to any review, good or bad or anything between.
• Second: Do not penalize a sales associate if they get a review that is anything but totally positive! If you have been to any of the major car dealerships or appliance sales departments of the major stores, you have probably been coached by the salesperson in how to complete the customer satisfaction survey. Is there a plus side to that concept for anyone?
• Third: Respond to every review... A simple thank you for the positive reviews, but a considerate thank you for the critical review. The critical review is the most important. It helps you recognize weaknesses in your processes from the customers viewpoint. 
• Now, if the customer rips the salesperson to rags, then it really could be that the customer was having a bad day, we all know it happens. However, it's really important to use it as an educational moment, not only for the employee, but for the HR office. Perhaps the sales team needs an update on customer appreciation. And Yes, it could be that a rouge sales person really did a bad job of interacting with the customer and it might not be the first time. But if you did not get the customer feedback in the first place, then you would not know about the problem.

But what if the Critical Review was not about how the sales person? Perhaps it is about the products, or the delivery system. Now the review might have a clearly defined financial value.

In all cases of a critical review, follow up with the customer. You can probably ensure that the customer is satisfied with the follow up process, even to the point where they spread the word that "Something was wrong , but they fixed it and thanked me for pointing out" 

So, solicit the critical reviews, they always can pay off positively