Addressing complaints isn’t my favorite PR task. Sometimes, however, individuals lash out at Mustang or at one of our clients, and the situation must be swiftly and conscientiously dealt with. In my experience, these people usually stage their complaints on a social media platform.
It happens—negative Facebook posts appear on your profile, and, if your page is public, anyone can see them. This doesn’t give you license to clutch your heart and keel over. Believe it or not, these instances do not mean the end of your business—or the world. Instead, make lemonade out of these sour PR lemons. They can serve as an example to other businesses and even show off your diplomacy skills.
The cardinal sin committed nine times out of 10 in this situation: deleting the post from your page. Do not do this. It not only will spark a multitude of angry remarks from social media users, but it makes them (including the poster) feel like you don’t care about their discontent.
Figuring out whether to respond to each of these posts poses a slight challenge. Depending on how many posts your page gets in an average week, each post could hold significant weight. Or, if posts appear constantly, ridiculous and outlandish posts can for the most part go ignored. There’s no way to win with those angry people anyway.
If the poster is just an irritated individual who wants to make a point to you, respond ASAP. Instead of affirming or denying the poster’s accusations, reply to the post (yes, publically) indicating your remorse about his or her disappointment in your product. Don’t defend your business. Next, offer to make the situation right: ask for the poster’s contact information and promise to personally follow-up with them about how to rectify the situation (and yes, you really should do everything in your power to please the complainer—remember, the customer is always right…even when they’re wrong).
Not only will you appease the disgruntled poster, but other people who visit your page will observe the fact that you care about your customers and will go to great lengths to deliver a quality product.
The next time someone posts a less-than-glowing remark on your page, don’t immediately reach for the gin or throw yourself from the fire escape. Use the situation to your advantage and gain some social media respect along the way.