Are the wrong people managing your online reviews?
Comcast hates customers. At least, that’s been their reputation for as long as anyone can remember.
When it comes to online reviews, it seems like no one's behind the wheel. No one seems to be managing or responding to their nightmarish reviews.
A customer service rep changed the name on Ricardo Brown's bill to Assh*le Brown after he terminated his cable TV service. Comcast ignored Brown until the press got involved. Then, they were apologetic, offering a refund and two years of free service. Mary Bauer's name was changed to Super B*tch. Other customers were called names like whore and dummy. Yikes.
No wonder customers believed Comcast hated them. What's worse, David Cohen, a Comcast VP, admitted company officials were "deeply disappointed in their customer service". Later Comcast stated that "it may take a few years before we can honestly say that a great customer experience is something we’re known for." Ouch. Did you catch the problem? No?
Comcast's negative reviews show a disconnection. From the executive to individual departments (including customer service) - they're all disconnected from the customer. Which is where things get dicey.
Comcast's review strategy isn't intentional. Their reviews happen to them. As a result they have 4,010+ one star reviews on Consumer Affairs and thousands more on Amazon. They've been listed or mentioned as the worst company in America 21 times. Brutal.
Online reviews need to be managed by … No one? Or, anyone and everyone? Maybe it's by one person?
When it comes to managing online reviews, many organizations aren't sure how to approach their reviews. It can be a challenge for a small business, let alone an enterprise with hundreds, even thousands, of locations. Do I hire a dedicated rep to handle and respond to reviews? Should it be a team?
It's hard to move forward when you don't have a plan.
Some organizations rely on their marketing teams to craft and control their image; others rely on management, or PR. Or founders. Job titles and departments don't matter. Title isn't as important as the responsibility. If you're responsible for reviews - dealing with perception issues, responding to customer feedback - you're on the front line. Which means you should take the lead. But you can't do it alone.
Healthy organizations treat customer reviews like a barometer.
People in small businesses are forced to wear many hats. It's common for the people in a small business to spend their days running from one fire to the next. Believe it or not that's a good thing.
Small businesses & startups tend to provide individual workers with more autonomy and control. Your team is far more likely to trust you to get things done. But that autonomy fades as businesses grow.
Isn't it better if one person handles everything? It's a great idea if that person has the autonomy and control they need to get things done. One person isn't enough if they lack the freedom they need to act on positive reviews or resolve negative ones.
Employees at Comcast lacked the autonomy they needed to get things done. They needed to form a committee and decide on a course of action to prevent employees from hurting customers.
Comcast used the wrong strategy and it hurt their customers. Each of their departments - sales, marketing, support and finance - were disconnected from customers. Support reps were forced to swim against a never ending sea of customer frustration and despair. This disconnect caused a breakdown in quality, creating wave after wave of negative reviews.
This doesn't have to be you.
Wouldn't it be wonderful to have positive and negative reviews work in your favor? They
can if your reviews and company image are managed carefully.
Partner with Digital Lately and allow us to handle your reputation management. You can handle the rest of your business as your review strategy takes off.
Let's get started: visit reviews.DigitalLatey.com for more information.