What has been your experience of complaining to companies, shop assistants, salespeople, or waiters? Are they more or less likely to apologize here in Slovakia than in some other places, say New Zealand? What do you think about what this article says are the advantages of apologizing and why sometimes people neglect to adequately apologize? What can be done to encourage companies to apologize more?
I have never failed a complaint in my life. Maybe it is because I hate awkward situations and want to run away when it occurs, or maybe because I think that it would be useless. The article talks about responses that people got from the companies but I can not really imagine a company that would respond to your complaints. Since the world is under globalization and even our companies are changing to resemble the ones in the world, I think that this might change.
ReplyDeleteThe article discusses the problem of apologizing to customers and to employees. Most of the customers are not expecting a reply, so if they got an apology it would satisfy them. I think that the person that was telling the story how he felt after he got the responses from the different companies is a good example on how most of the people would react. So I think that if the companies apologized more, it would only improve their image.
However, there are some people that try to abuse the power of customer complaints. I have not seen this in real life, but I have seen many movies where people would start complaining and threaten to call their lawyer and eventually they would get a compensation for their troubles. This is probably the reason why I think that compensation is not a real prospect, unless something really terrible happened. So this leaves an apology as the only sort of tool that can be used to keep the angry customers satisfied. That is why it would be very beneficial for the companies to learn to use it.
@Janka
DeleteI agree with Janka that sending a letter or e-mail of complaint would be useless, particularly here in Slovakia. Even though the companies should have already realized how useful a single apology might be. In these hard times, every individual customer should be cared about with respect and patience. The author himself writes how much more difficult it is to attract new customers in comparison to retaining the existing ones. Not only could an apology make the angry client happy, but he might also spread the positive word about the company.
I personally have an experience of arrogant staff in the restaurant in Slovakia. After waiting for about hour and a half for my meal to come and complaining numerous times, I had not heard a single “sorry”. Not even had they apologized when I stood up, paying only for one coke I had consumed. I haven’t eaten there since. The only thing I can think about that could encourage companies to apologize more is a threat of “advertising” their services in the media. Only before facing a bankruptcy would they realize the real power of an angry customer.
My experiences related to complaints are small. A person can complain when his or her requirements have not been met. The problem is, that most people complain immediately when this happens and under whatever circumstances. Yes, I have complained about some things in my life, I am not going to pretend I did not, but when I find myself in a situation like this, I first think. There are times (which are of a smaller magnitude than a conflict with a phone company) in every day life when there are only slight differences between what a person asks for and what he or she gets. The thing is, that people have to realize, that the other side is not doing this on purpose. If you ask for a lemon ice-cream and you get a melon one, it was not the salesman's intention to deliberately give you the wrong one. If I got into a situation like this, I would first consider whether a melon ice-cream is really so terribly bad compared to the lemon one that I would die if I had to take it instead of the lemon one. If it was, then I would complain. But why complain if you do not care which ice-cream you will eat, the price is the same and the salesman did not do it on purpose? I see no reason. There should be some level of tolerance on the side of the complainer as well.
ReplyDeleteWhether a person in Slovakia is more likely to admit a mistake than a person in New Zealand, I have no idea. I do not think it is predetermined by the nationality of the person. I think it is all about the persons personality and the conditions he grew up in.
The article is wrong in one thing. It says that if a company accepts it's mistake and apologizes, it admits liability. That is right, along with all the other things it accepts, but it also proves, that it is reliable. If I knew that someone was a customer of a company, the company made an error, the customer complained and the company did everything to fix this error, I would not hesitate to become a customer of that company as well. I know they care and fix anything they might possibly cause. What else do I need? I think a company that responds and apologizes is way better that a company that does not even reply to a complaint letter.
@ Janka and Simon:
ReplyDeleteComplaining and leading an argument about relevant errors with people working for companies is important. Leaving things the way they are even though one is not satisfied with them seems a bit irrational to me. I think that that strong and brave people have a higher tendency to complain than shy people. Like Simon and Janka, I do not complain a lot with people working for companies, but when I do, I complain about things that are principal and relevant. I think that it takes a certain amount of skill to complain effectively. People should complain in a polite but firm way, clearly state the reason(s) for complaint and explain what could have been done to resolve the situation. I agree with Simon on the opinion of some people complaining about things that are not important and can be forgiven, however, it depends on the priorities of the person complain.
Moreover, I definitely think that people should complain to companies when they are not satisfied. The complaining should be effective and meaningful. Companies are here to serve their customers. People working in the companies should definitely try to satisfy their customers and be nice him/her. As Janka already mentioned, I also think that companies apologizing for their mistake do have a better image.