Mike- Thanks for the comment. For me, the first place to start is doing two Google searches. The first is just a brand or company search and see what review sites appear on page 1 or even page 2 results. This shows you what review sites/directories have some authority and visibility with your potential customers. The 2nd is searching “brand/company + reviews”. These results show you exactly what sites you want reviews on.

I couldn’t agree with you more about training and am excited about your continuing coverage of this topic. Something I have learned from recent GetFiveStars articles is just how large a role customer service/employee behavior plays in consumer complaints (something like 57%, right?) and that the cost of replacing a customer may be 25 times as high as the cost of retaining him. Given that employees are the linchpins around which all of this revolves, they really deserve the best training, support and transparent incentive program the business owner can provide.

Look forward to more from your team, and thanks again for the thoughtful reply!

I don’t know if I have the investigative chops to even explore a topic like that. There is no doubt that financial unrest can completely smother any employees desire to be exceptional at their job. Lack of money, a future and pride truly hurts the employee, business and customer.

One thing I can cite is a local pizza chain of about 10 locations that decided to raise their hiring wage a few years back. Their move increased applications and retention and even drew the interest of the President of the United States. https://www.minnpost.com/twin-cities-business/2016/01/real-reason-punch-pizza-s-high-wages

One thing in the article above that stood out to me with the Career Path graphic they have. Not only can an employee or applicant see the possible path, but the financial compensation it offers too. I don’t know many small businesses that do that, that well.

One contributing area I do hope to write more about though is the specific training and trust employees receive from their employer. I have found a huge void in companies providing adequate training on problem solving, process and true customer service. Since they do little to no education on this, they have no trust in the employees to handle these situations. This makes for a big vulnerability in the customer experience, because who you are dealing with has little training, knowledge and virtually no authority to help you when it’s needed. Sad.

Those that educate, train and instill these skills and trust seem to thrive … and impress their customers.

Most of the stores in the cities nearest me are staffed by youngsters who are often working multiple part-time jobs, trying to knit together survival money. So, they are not only anxious about their private lives, their value is often not being validated by the employer who is either cutting corners for the sake of increased profits or is, himself, in the hole financially, sometimes avoiding having to pay for things like health insurance benefits by employing multiple part-time staff.

If the American consumer has noticed a major drop off in superior customer service over the past few decades, they can likely connect it directly to the economy. I can no longer keep track of the number of times I’ve had to wander around stores, looking for someone to help me, only to FINALLY locate a 21 year old kid who is trying to hurry away from me and has never heard of a dish pan, or a bread basket, or a knife sharpener. He hasn’t been trained in the products, he hasn’t been taught to become accountable or act quickly when a customer has an unmet need. And he’s barely getting by financially.

No wonder the Internet is literally drowning in negative reviews. It makes the exceptions of good companies with cared-for employees stand out like very bright stars. I’d love to see you or Mike dig deeper into the underlying causes of terrible customer service. I may be your #1 fan of this complaint series and would value seeing further excavation. Keep up the great work!