For those of you who selling products or services, you'd know what it's like when customers start complaining about what they are getting from you.
There are customers who offer constructive criticisms which do not just spot your mistakes (diplomatically) but give encouragement for improvements. It makes you say, “Hey, yeah… you're so right about that. Maybe we should do something different next time. Thanks!”
On exactly the same issue, another customer may just criticise you with blows of fiery dragon breath and speak their ten-cent worth opinion to a million ringgit. And even though you totally agree that a particular product or service should be improved, his/her comments make you think, “If you're so good at it, why don't you do it yourself?” Of course we don't want to think this aloud, less we bring ourselves down to the level of the complainant.
The one I got from last month's issue regarding the "foolish typo" is fully understandable because it's something really personal and it involves someone's grieve. And no matter how silly the mistake was, he ended our conversation on a nicer note: “It's a small matter,” and encouraged me with a smile.
Your product ought to be in the trash can!
This morning, however, I received a really thick mail at my office. I was excited to see what it was. It turned out to be a few-page long complain letter attached with our last month's printing mistakes and a guided solution to some "political" articles which were published. It was filled with really harsh and sarcastic remarks.
If you asked me, I wasn't happy at all about the layout of last month's issue. When I handed it to the press, I expected it to be one of my best layouts - if not the best yet - in my one year of work here. But when I received the papers from the press on Saturday, believe me, I was ready to burn them all to bits. I was angry that the words couldn't be read. The shades of the background didn't come out right. My husband, Terence was with me in the office and he saw how disappointed I was. Let's not even get to the funny quality of the paper.
After the Sunset Mass, I told my friend Sarah (who was the commentator) that I wanted to tell her to warn the congregation from buying the August issue. I was totally embarrassed (and pissed) at how it had turned out. Of course, I couldn't do that. I was supposed to encourage the sales of the paper.
After two weeks and no one questioned what happened (except from my Editor… and she has all the rights to question. I would question me too! ), I thought the faithful willingly accepted and understood that the design as probably just a printing mistake overlooked with the hope that it'll get better the next issue. The mail I received this morning (it's by snail mail, by the way, and obviously the person spent a lot on postage to get his/her message across) proved to me that there exists an unforgiving, dissatisfied customer who is prepared to go by the miles to press down services of other people.
I don't mind complains if they are encouraging and diplomatic. I've been in customer service before and I've seen many ways of proposing solutions without being harsh.
Scenarios
Put yourself in the shoes of all parties involved here:
Cockroach in the coffee
Customer A screams for the waiter, makes himself/herself loud for everyone in the restaurant to hear and demands to see the manager for a refund or replacement.
Customer B signals for the waiter, tells him there's something in the coffee and asks for the drink to be removed from the table.
Of course, in both cases, the restaurant shouldn't charge the customers for the coffee.
Which customer are you? If you were the manager, how would you treat your guilty staff after Customer A complained? How about after Customer B complained?
You look ugly in that floral dress
The minute Friend A sees the girl in the dress (who thought the dress looked really pretty), she says, “What horridness! Where did you get that dress from? Your grandma's loft?”
Friend B goes, “Oh my, that dress doesn't do justice to your figure. Maybe you should put on the other one you wore to last weekend's dinner. You looked extremely gorgeous in that.”
Which friend are you? If you were the girl in the dress, which remarks make you cry?
Preserve the Culture
This was written as an encouragement for all of us, to preserve the culture of courteousness and to pass it on as a legacy to our younger generation. It helps to have good manners no matter how bad the situation is when we're out there earning for our rice bowl. In other countries, everything ends up in court but patience with tolerance is really what is required of all of us in order to maintain good relationship (sometimes even reputation) with the people around us.
Some Scriptural Verses to Ponder
“If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.” - Mt18:15-17
“Why do you observe the splinter in your brother's eye and never notice the great log in your own? And how dare you say to your brother, “Let me take that splinter out of your eye,” when, look, there is a great log in your own?” - Mt7:3-4
“But you, Lord, God of tenderness and mercy, slow to anger, rich in faithful love and loyalty, turn to me and pity me.” - Ps86:15-16
And of course, we must go by the words that we say all the time in the prayer our Good Lord taught us: “Forgive us our sins, as WE FORGIVE those who sin against us.”
Incidentally, as I'm preparing the September 2008 issue, the article written by Bro Columba Gleeson for his column - Signpost - speaks on mercy and compassion.
Oh Well…
As for the complainant, I guess all I can say is, “Thank you for making your opinion heard (or read). I'm glad I'm the one sitting in this office instead of others who are newer to the working environment, who may not be able to take it. We will definitely have some improvements made as our publication is a people's paper.”
