Today’s post comes from Bridgz’s junior copywriter Nick Nelson
Once upon a time, embarrassing little slip-ups in customer service could be swept under the rug. If your brand was able to maintain a generally consumer-friendly reputation, you didn’t need to worry about isolated incidents doing much to damage that rep.
In a world where the internet and social media reign supreme, however, this is no longer the case. Particularly bad experiences will be shared with the world digitally, going viral and causing major headaches for your PR department.
For instance, one foolish employee types in a racial slur on a receipt for a pizza delivery. A photo of the receipt gets posted to Twitter, retweeted by thousands of people, and turned into a national news story.
In another case, a single lazy deliveryman carelessly tosses a package filled with fragile cargo over a fence. The security camera recording is posted to YouTube and viewed by over 8 million people.
There are plenty of other notable examples, and if you’re one to peruse social media, you’ve undoubtedly encountered several.
The toughest thing about these incidents is that they’re extremely difficult to avoid, from a company standpoint. Papa John’s and FedEx both put considerable effort into fostering a customer-centric culture, and are generally successful in that regard, but it’s nearly impossible to protect against rogue employees who stray from that culture. One embarrassing incident such as the ones above can undo years of work toward building a desirable image.
The best answer? Make sure your hiring and training processes are top-notch, and that your customer-centric ideology is actively promoted, so that these kinds of situations can be avoided. When they do arise, have a strategy in place so that you’re ready to respond swiftly and firmly.
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