Why it’s good to give feedback to businesses

by Jen

I’m getting a little gift because I complained to a local store about their corporate website saying they opened earlier than they really open – causing me to get there an hour early and waste my time.

Getting freebies isn’t the only – or even the best – reason to give feedback to the people you do business with. Nor should you only give negative feedback! If you want businesses to treat you right, you have to let them know how they’re doing – good or bad.

More and more companies are offering surveys where you can win money if you call a phone number or go to a website and tell them about your latest shopping experience. Businesses that want customers are eager to hear the good, the bad and the ugly.

Positive Reinforcement

Complaints are informative, but nothing beats knowing when you’re doing it right. When no one says anything, a business doesn’t know if that means they’ve got it just right, or they should be trying something new. It may seem silly to pull aside an employee and say, “Listen, I just want to let you know you guys are really doing it right and don’t change a thing” but the feedback of one passionate customer often means more than a dozen scientific surveys.

And yes, sometimes they give you a freebie for being a loyal customer.

Examples of positive feedback:

Let a restaurant know their service is particularly good, friendly, fast, etc.
Let a shop know you’re glad they stock X or carry it at a good price, especially if it’s hard to find otherwise (believe it or not, knowing they have one regular customer for an item can make a difference when they’re deciding what to restock).

Constructive Complaints

A business that doesn’t value constructive complaints deserves to struggle. When you explain to them precisely what they’ve done wrong and how you think they should have done it differently, good businesses value that feedback. How else can they know what’s in the minds of the customers they lose? It’s not like you’re going to get surveyed if you don’t shop there.

Examples of constructive complaints:

If an employee is rude to you, let management know. That person may be sweet as molasses to the boss’ face and get the raises and perks other employees would better deserve.
If service is terrible, say so. If you can make a suggestion for improvement, even better.
If you’re not getting what you were promised, tell them.

Tips for Giving Effective Feedback

Speak to the right person. The clerk probably doesn’t have the authority to vacuum the floor. It’s always better to talk to someone in at least a supervisory position. Calling a corporate 1-800 number is also good.
Don’t give en employee feedback about himself. This doesn’t help. Always talk to someone above the employee in rank, whether you’re complaining about or commending the employee. You want to talk to someone who has a say in whether that person continues to work for the company, gets raises or perks, etc., or you’re wasting your time and his.
Don’t give too much feedback. Yes, you can overwhelm them with too much information. Or you can dilute the value they give to your feedback by dumping too much of it on them. Save it for exceptionally bad or good moments – unless the business in question is always exceptionally good, at which point you should just let them know this every few months or once a year or something.
Put it in writing. If you’re really serious, emailing or writing a letter to someone in authority means your feedback probably goes into a file where it will be remembered later when the business is making decisions about how to continue its operations.

Related posts:

Subscribe to feed updates or email updates
Print This Post Save it: Stumble it! | Del.icio.us | Digg
Posted in Do It Yourself on August 6, 2008
Want your tip featured on Bohemian Revolution? Click here!