Of course it’s ridiculous to think we can please everyone we market and sell products to. But, you better be willing to try. You better be willing to fight for your reputation.

Why? Two reasons. In this new warp-speed world of online opinion sharing, one sour consumer can make some very costly noise.  And, because at the end of the day, truly great companies earn their greatness through the power of positive word of mouth.

Today, just one determined dissident can do real damage to your reputation and your brand. Don’t take “that difficult guy” lightly. In our ultra-connected world of instant feedback, you can no longer afford to blow him off.

Let me give you a timely example: Just today I picked up a repaired phone at Sprint. From the outset, everyone there seemed snippy and icy. When the sales person handed me the phone I thought he was about to shake my hand, so I responded with an outstretched handshake. It turns out that I had misread his movement and quickly realized that he was probably just wiping some grease on his jeans! So there I was in that awkward, lonely zone, hand outstretched as we both made our split decisions. I decided to leave my hand “out there”. He decided to turn and walk off. Just left me stranded! I was not impressed and I have already told 3 people about that experience. Now it’s forever multiplied in this blog. Times have changed. (Look at how this unsatisfied customer made “noise”)

(If anyone has an example of how one or two sour clients caused big headaches, please share!)

So here’s my confessional. This is an email we received last week a few days after one of our programs was promoted to one of our internal lists:

“Hey Northstar!…Your program is not worth the email you sent out!  I have tried to contact your company on at least 7 different occasions and cannot even get the courtesy of a return call or email response.   Remove me from your list, as I only work with people with integrity and it is clear that your company does not align with this.  You are out of integrity with all that you preach.  I was a fan, but no longer. –N.”

Ouch! In the spirit of trying to reclaim lost trust, we got right on this…first step, just genuinely admit and apologize. No one cares about your excuses.

“Dear N, I apologize for your experience with the Northstar office. We have removed your name from our list. Please know that it was never our intention to be so difficult to be in communication with–and, I am sorry for your frustration. We were unaware of any breakdowns in our phones/systems/personnel–but, will now look into what happened and immediately make the correction. Thank you for bringing this to our attention.

If there is ANYTHING I can do for your to reduce your level of frustration, please don’t hesitate to ask–if I can provide it, I will. –Anya, Director of Curriculum”

Surely, this would settle him down. Um, no…

“Northstar…Thanks for the apology, but the service was so bad and frustrating that I am not interested in doing business with anything Northstar related. If you really care about changing lives through a value centered service, you will rethink your approach to customer service…

I am very glad I did not choose to enroll in your program for it truly would have been a waste of money when your organization did not even function at the level I function. If you were a high functioning athlete, would you be coached by someone who has never played the game? Or even simpler, someone who didn’t even show up at practice?–N”

Double ouch! The immediate temptation at this point is to fight back. Surely, the client is over-reaching now, over-reacting. Right? Perhaps.

Thankfully, Anya remained patient and fell back on trying to genuinely understand more about the client’s perspective…

“Dear N–Thank you, again, for your feedback. In order to correct this, it would help me immensely to know exactly what happened. What I know is that you attempted (on several occasions) to contact our offices and never received a return call. Things that would help are: Who were you trying to contact in response to what, specifically? What number did you call? Did you ever speak with someone, and if so, was this the person that failed to call you back? Any other information that would help me get to the bottom of this will be appreciated. And if you choose not to respond, I understand and wish you well.–Anya, Director of Curriculum”

Mr. N then suggested that we call him. I think we chose the right person to pay attention to. Based on his willingness to continue the dialogue, he was probably someone who was more than willing to be quite vocal about his discontent.

Anya made the call. Ate humble pie. Got really full on a bunch of humble pie. And finally won our little war for a heart and mind. Here was the final email from our formerly peeved friend:

“Anya–Thank you for the opportunity to vent my concerns and frustrations! It was a pleasure speaking with you and if you represent the level of service of the true team at Northstar, then I am certain you will produce the results promised!–N”

Time consuming, yes. A bit of a distraction, yes. But absolutely worth the time and effort. Turning a detractor into a fan is more valuable than an average client. This was time well spent. We learned several good lessons. And we’ll keep fighting for our reputation.

I suggest you do the same.

Check out these great post for more information about this topic:

The Power of the Customer’s Voice

Seven Ways to Resolve Customer Service Issues

Using Customer Feedback to Build Your Business