Lately, school principals are calling and emailing to say that their students’ shoe bottoms are leaving unsightly permanent marks on their gymnasium floors. Someone starts up a Facebook page regarding the issue, and more and more people are signing on as members. Twitter is afire with complaints from the cash-strapped educational sector.
As CEO, you have two choices: ignore the issue, or respond. What are you going to do?
Not all executives are keen to acknowledge
complaints. They believe that in doing so, they
are admitting that they were wrong. (They also
worry that they will have to fork out money to
set things right.)
However, there is a way to acknowledge a
complaint without being overly apologetic,
and retain the business of those who feel
wronged.
Think of it this way: in life, perhaps more than
anything, people want to be acknowledged
and appreciated. This applies to one’s personal
life as well as business. The art, however, is in
how you frame what you say to your customer.
Use the following as a paragraph-by-paragraph
guide for writing a public statement (e.g., for
your website):
1. Emphasize how much you value/appreciate
your clientele
2. Without going into too much detail,
acknowledge what the issue/problem is
3. Show your clientele that you understand their
needs
4. State what you are going to do to rectify
the problem
5. Again, emphasize how much you value the
customer
6. Close with a statement that encourages your
client to continue their business with you
Did you see #4? Acknowledging a problem also
requires fixing it. So, before you do or say anything,
you need to identify the steps you will take to rectify
the issue. Your solution does not have to be set in
stone and it could even just be a temporary solution.
But you still need to include one.
To summarize, when you acknowledge complaints:
be humble, and be helpful.
It’s just smart public relations.
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