The use of social media is continually developing and has certainly become a significant part of many people’s day to day lives. It is used for a variety of reasons but I have observed for some time that it is common practice to share frustrations about poor service. Of course it is everybody’s right to air these views and when an experience is not what is expected then I accept that it is sometimes helpful to share with others and highlight potential problems.

The motivation for sharing poor experiences is interesting. Having worked in customer service environments for a long time I have witnessed that some organisations care more about service than others and some will also respond to negative feedback better than others. So why do people share their poor experiences. Is it to warn friends, family etc that the service is poor? Is it to highlight to the organisation that the service is poor? Is it to gain sympathy from others? Or is it simply that it is easier than complaining through proper channels? Does it make people complaining feel better? I suspect that the underlying motivation is to get a reaction.

What I have observed is that feedback about service is unbalanced. Expectations are high but the ratio of positive comments against negative comments is low. I have often included a warm up session in workshops that identifies good experiences and bad experiences amongst delegates. This often highlights that some organisations fall into both categories. It also highlights that we are all different with personal situations and expectations. What may be right for some may be completely wrong for somebody else. If you are in a rush a good experience is completely different to when you have time and are able to chat. We all know that the customer Is not always right!

The question that I have now is how to we achieve a more balanced view? How do we ensure that we share positive experiences aswell as disappointing ones. Various review sites help but only when people want to submit a review.
So how about sharing a more positive outlook? We all witness positive things and good service but often take it for granted. It would be good to share and if sharing a comment about a negative experience is helpful how would you feel about sharing a positive one. If yiu have any then please share them with me, I would be interested to see them.