Your Employee Gets Called Out In an Online Review. Now What?
Pick one, quick.
Your company has just received a negative review. One where the customer says some
pretty terrible things about one of your employees.
Your employee is an all-star as far as you're concerned. On the other hand, your customer
may be right. Both your employees and customers expect you to pick a side.
Get it wrong and you may do lasting damage to your business, customer and employee relationships.
Customer vs. Employee: Whose side do you take?
Side with customers and you risk creating anger and bitterness in the ranks. Team
morale drops as employees start to believe you don't care about them.
On the other hand…
Side with employees in your rebuttal and you make a bad situation worse. You infuriate
your customer and you send a message to prospective customers that you simply won't
take care of them.
It's a no win situation.
If you're inexperienced, you do the "smart" thing
You run.
You ignore, evade or hide from the conversation. You do everything you can to avoid
facing the problem. On the surface that seems like cowardice.
But, it's a smart move.
The last thing you want is to end up in a toxic altercation with your employee and your
customer. That would be terrible for all kinds of reasons. Saying nothing is easier when
you don't know what to say or how to say it.
It's completely understandable.
But, in many cases, it's also the wrong move. Because your silence communicates a
message to your employees and customers - a message you don't get to control.
Silence sends messages like…
★ "They don't care about their customers"
★ "I can't trust these guys"
★ "They'll hurt me"
★ "They're ____ and that's bad"
Your silence is a breeding ground for bitterness and resentment - on both sides. It seems
like the smart thing but it actually encourages employees and customers to fill-in-the-blanks.
A better option?
Make a stupid decision. Start a fight instead.
When people hear the word "fight" their minds tend to go to dark and unpleasant places.
We think about abuse, fear, dysfunction, toxicity.
That's the problem.
When we fight, we focus our attention on a "who" which inevitably leads to disaster. What
if, instead of fighting a who, you decided to fight a what?
Focusing on the "what" creates freedom.
Your employees want you to take their side. The customer expects you to take theirs.
They're both focused on a "who."
Which "what" do you fight first?
It isn't just about fighting a "what" it's about fighting the right "what."
The right "what?"
Let's look at the Home Depot in Bellevue, WA for an example.
1. Procedures. The wrong procedures create customer/employee conflicts.
Poor procedures like these create conflict, putting customers and employees at odds
with each other. So, how do you fix this? As management, you apologize, taking
responsibility for the poor procedure that lead to this conflict. Then, you make it right.
2. Structure. Your offer, product or service structured in a way that creates aggression or
frustration.
See the recurring theme? Customers want help with a particular problem (e.g. customer
service, fulfillment, etc.) but they're not hearing back/getting help from staff in a timely
fashion. It would be easy to automatically assume these employees are lazy, poorly
trained, etc. What if they're overwhelmed?
So, how do you fix this? Start by determining whether employees are overworked or not. If
there aren't enough employees to cover busy periods, customers won't be happy. Look
for structural problems that create conflict (e.g. understaffed, overworked, undertrained).
Apologize to customers, address the problem, then work to restore the relationship.
3. Mismatch. Customers want A . You're offering B. Customers believe you're offering A .
Home Depot agreed to price match. This customer wanted to price match clearance
items, something Jackie, the store manager refused to do. Naturally, this customer was
upset.
Their policy didn't explicitly reject clearance items. What's worse, this customer didn't
think Jackie believed her.
So, how do you fix this? If you're part of management, you give customers the benefit of
the doubt. You show them a three step process.
1. Confirm what they believe they deserve
2. Give them concrete proof of what you're offering
3. Then , give them the benefit of the doubt
Expectations. What customer expect vs. what they get creates frustration, conflict and
pain.
These customer reviews show customers arrive at the store with specific expectations.
1. Expertise . Customers expect staff and sales teams to be knowledgeable, fast and
efficient.
2. Handholding. Customers at this location expect to be waited on. They want staff to be
understanding and focused on their needs - even if that means dealing with noisy kids.
3. Customer service. They want helpful customer service, they want to be taken care of.
See the common theme with each of these?
It's a willingness to help.
Customers want your team to be friendly, to give them what they need. They're looking
for acceptance and compassion. When it's appropriate they want you to bend the rules a
bit. Employees want the same things.
Procedures, structure, mismatch and expectations - these function as barricades. So,
you do the wise thing.
You take responsibility.
When a customer calls an employee out, you take responsibility. Sometimes that means
you take the blame. Most of the time that means you make things right.
Taking care of customers is a disaster…
... If you're dealing with trolls, ragers or toxic people in general, it's a terrible idea. Monitor
these customers yes, but don't engage with them.
They don't want resolution.
Trolls, ragers and toxic people aren't looking for a compromise. They're not looking for
facts and they're definitely not looking to negotiate. They're looking to inflict pain. Their
motives are selfish and they're closed off to anything you have to say.
In fact, there's really only two customers you can help.
1. The misguided customer. These customers are confused, they're relying on incorrect
or untrue information. So you respond in kind. You share the facts, then when they're
open, you restore the relationship.
2. The unhappy customer. This customer has had a genuinely negative experience. So
you do what you can to fix the situation, offer a reasonable solution and restore the
relationship.
What about negative comments towards that employee?
Am I saying you simply ignore negative comments to employees? Not at all. I'm saying
that you respond accordingly. There are three basic ways to handle abuse.
You…
1. Spear. This is the direct approach. You call customers on their bad behavior, you
address their poor attitude or inappropriate comments directly. This is a crucial
conversation when it's done well; name calling, bullying or controlling behavior when it's
done poorly.
2. Parry. You redirect the conversation to the issues that matter. If they're focused on an
area that isn't constructive, you redirect the conversation to the issues that matter most.
A good response to: "Selena is the worst!" could be, "I'm so sorry you've had a terrible
experience. What can we do to make things right?" This de-escalates the situation and
avoids the insult entirely.
3. Evade. Ignoring insults, using silence, avoiding specific customers - these are all
evasion methods. Trolls, ragers and sadists are best handled with evasion. The more you
engage with them, the more aggressive they become.
Here's the thing about customer interactions. There's no hard and fast rule. You'll need to
look at the variables involved and choose the right strategy.
It may be a good idea to parry a customer's insult if an employee is out of line. You may
want to avoid a toxic temper tantrum. Maybe it's a good idea to spear customers, taking
the direct approach to conflict.
You'll need to decide in the moment.
You'll also need to decide how to handle poor employees.
Which employees are repeat offenders or trouble makers? How do you address repeat
offenders? What is a repeat offender? If you're dealing with a few bad apples it's best to
act quickly and decisively.
But it all depends on you.
What's your HR policy? Is your employee going through a rough time at the moment?
It's important to decide how you'll want to handle each situation individually.
Start by listing your non-negotiable anchor points. These are the issues that are no-gos.
The mistakes that would require immediate termination.
These non-negotiable anchor points give you clarity and control.
What if your customers are lying?
Or, they're exhibiting abusive or controlling behavior? Do you simply ignore them and
move on?
It all depends on you.
What do you want? What are the values, the ethos of your organization? Let your values
be your guide.
What if your customers aren't lying? What if you're just unsure about how to handle the
Situation?
Easy, you ask.
Â
Jan,
I'm so sorry we let you down. You're right, we didn't make our policy clear
enough. Then, to make matters worse, we got your order wrong. Again.
Would you allow us to make it up to you? Please reach out to us at
support@domain.com?
John Smith
Â
Reach out to customers, then once the ball is in their court, wait for them to reach out to
you.
Take responsibility for your customers and your employees. They both need your care,
guidance and protection.
If an employee has breached your non-negotiable anchor points, allow them to face the
consequences of their actions on their own. There's no need to become an enabler.
Customers vs. Employees: You don't have to choose.
Simply fight for them both.
Side with customers and you risk creating anger and bitterness in the ranks. Side with
employees in your rebuttal and you make a bad situation worse. You infuriate your
customer and you send a message to prospective customers that you simply won't take
care of them.
Wise managers shoulder the responsibility.
Face the customer/employee conflict where and when it's appropriate. Do that and you
preserve both relationships. When there's a stalemate you don't have to choose one
relationship over the other. Take ownership of the situation where you can and you'll
realize you have what you need to choose what's best.