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There are two sides to every story

Last time out, I touched on the way that customers choose their supplier from the internet now we have instant gratification and, for better or worse, online reviews and comments.

I recently read some great reviews when choosing a holiday destination, for example, a man sent a complaint to Disneyworld claiming that it was “too touristy” or that “it is lazy” of the local shopkeepers to close in the afternoons as he often needed to buy things during ‘siesta’ time, so it should be banned.

My favourite was: “Topless sunbathing on the beach at this resort should be forbidden. The holiday was ruined as my husband spent all day looking at other women.” I could not wait to book that resort, although my wife did give me a bit of grief and we are going somewhere else this year.

These sorts of comments are just plainly funny for the reader, but somewhat sad for the writer who obviously has had a sense of humour failure. I feel for the poor soul who has to remain professional in the official company response to these missives.

But unfortunately, there is a seemingly growing breed of person who, for some reason or another, seems to like getting a kick out of making nasty ill-informed comments in a way that you can easily imagine that he/she will turn to their friends and smirk ‘look how clever I am’ when all the time, little do they realise that no one thinks they are clever, just a sad voice seeking attention. Trolls in the modern vernacular.

Thick-skinned

Am I alone in thinking of these people like this? Should I join in and give as much as given? Well, not really. Being in the position I have, with a few years of interaction with suppliers and customers under my belt, a well-developed thick skin comes in handy. Constructive personal criticism I can take—well, sort of as I get angry with myself that I needed to be criticised in the first place, but that is just me. Ill-informed, innuendo, half-truths or even downright lies come with the territory, and my feelings on these and the authors of such comments are simply, ‘I couldn’t care less’.

Being in the position I have, with a few years of interaction with suppliers and customers under my belt, a well-developed thick skin comes in handy”

The BSGA is always going to be subject to criticism and some (including me) would argue quite right too. The world owes nobody anything as the world was here first and the BSGA has to earn its right to be respected. My mantra is if you do not learn from your mistakes, you are not really doing yourself any favours in life.

The BSGA has to live in the world of tweets, posts, and blogs simply because it is what it is. I am all for intelligent interaction in blogs or forums where a lot can be learnt from your peers or experts in the field. A decent search engine or a conversation with someone who does know what they are talking about is always worthwhile supporting. I am not knocking that.

What concerns me is the commercial damage that can be done by people who make ill-informed and judgemental comments without even bothering to check the facts or understand that their prejudiced idea of reality is actually wrong. Criticise if you want, but do it in a way that the facts are indisputable and, if possible, leave the judgemental, emotional dialogue parked somewhere else.

What concerns me is the commercial damage that can be done by people who make ill-informed and judgemental comments without even bothering to check the facts”

It is hard enough to run your own business, and I honestly believe that no one wakes up on a Monday morning determined to go to work to deliberately make mistakes, miss deadlines, and let people down. The trouble is, some people are not prepared to accept that in life, not everything will go as expected. That is when they leap to the keyboard to fire off their grenades, then sit back to smirk at the fallout.

This is one example I have come across recently. A sign company complained to me the other day that they had been at the receiving end of this ‘trolling’ simply because the courier had delivered the signs in the afternoon and not in the morning. Yes, the courier needs to up their game, but should the sign company be criticised and put at fault? Apparently so according to the now ex-customer, but the review they left on the website bore no resemblance to the reality of the transaction and it is amazing how everything was put under the microscope after the event.

Ignoring the emotional clap trap, it boiled down to these two wrongdoings: ‘Terrible service, the sign company did not return calls quick enough’ and ‘it was not until after the signs were made that it was explained that a paint colour is unlikely to match exactly a Pantone colour leaving me with signs that do not match corporate colours’.

I have seen the evidence. The phone call to the sign company was made at 12.03pm and returned at 1.30pm, i.e. after the lunch break. In the original quote, reference was made to paint colour numbers to closely match Pantone numbers. The delivery was set for the morning, however the courier had some problems resulting in a late delivery. But what is the point of arguing the toss about this. The comments were made and put up there for all to see. The inference that the sign company is a pile of poo has already been made.

The sign company did respond using the right to reply facility, with facts, and apologised for the inconvenience of a late delivery that was out of their control as a way of mitigating any damage caused. They quite rightly, in my opinion, ignored the emotional accusations as they were just not relevant.

The bright side

Hopefully, anyone reading the posts in the review will read the whole story, not just the vitriolic headline comments. Funnily enough, the next five customer reviews all praised the sign company for service, integrity, and quality. My advice, for what it is worth, is simply move on.

Someone a lot brighter than me recently said that they wished they would make the brain an app and that way people would start using it. I just wish that before people post their comments, they take a deep breath. Perhaps while they are deep breathing they should then consider the old saying ‘before you criticise a man, walk a mile in his shoes’, just to get an idea of what the reality is. The trouble with that phrase though is when you do criticise him, you will be a mile away and have his shoes—but it was worth a shot.

Anyway, back to the holiday complaints. “The street signs weren’t in English. I don’t understand how anyone can get around” and “there was no sign telling you that you should not get on the hot air balloon ride if you are afraid of heights”. This is now the world we live in. However, what goes around…

Public Notice:

Ill-informed reviews posted online can do a lot of damage
A lot can be learnt from experts in your field
Always get the full story from your supplier
Criticism should be backed up with facts

The British Sign and Graphics Association (BSGA) history dates back more than 70 years when a group of leading sign-makers formed the Master Sign Makers Association (MSMA) with the aim of promoting the sign industry and defending its interests.

For more information on the issues discussed in this article visit www.bsga.co.uk or tel: 0845 338 3016

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Online Reviews in the Modern World

David Catanach, director of the British Sign and Graphics Association, discusses the nature of online reviews in the modern world and the age of the ‘keyboard warrior’