Ever heard the old saying in that for every disgruntled, dissatisfied customer who lets you know of their unhappiness with your product or service, that there are nine or ten other customers who are upset but don’t bother to express it? Moreover, these discontented customers would tell five or so other people. On the other hand, happy customers do not necessary tell anyone unless that are particularly happy or if they are asked directly about the business they are patrons of.
Common wisdom had it that several, if not most of the unsatisfied customers would vote with their feet, that is, they would move their business to one of the competitors and unless the company in question is conducting attrition surveys, the organization would never know why they left. (Or worse, it might not even notice.)
Much of the above is supported by research conducted in the 1980s. But is it still valid today?
Probably not.
Yesterday, a consumer had to be ardent to express a complaint. The consumer would have to physically visit a location, or be willing to make multiple phone calls to find someone, anyone, who would listen, or write, address and mail letters. Moreover, an unhappy customer had little recourse if their complaint was not answered. They had little or no market power to express their discontent in a public forum.
A few hardy souls would, for example, paint their cars lemon-yellow as a expression of outrage against either a manufacturer who refused (or couldn’t fix a problem with a new vehicle) or a dealer who they felt ignored their problem(s). But except for an appeal to the consumer watchdog reporter from a local television news show, usually a complaint or an incident would not gain the attention of the public (and for those of us who remember those days, wasn’t there some sense that the complainers where just cranky kooks?).
Ah, how the worm has turned!
Today, a disgruntled customer has but to turn to the Internet to potentially create a firestorm of adverse publicity for the company that is the (alleged) source of their pain. A consumer can post a negative review of a product (or vendor) on a shopping site (Amazon?), or make a video to post on YouTube and a hundred other sites, or express their anger on a blog, or even put up a website dedicated to”I hate [such and such a company].” Maybe, with some cleverness and a little bit of luck, their Internet efforts will go viral and thousands, hundreds of thousands or even millions of people in the online community would view their missives. Examples are rife.
What to make of all of this?
Have the research findings of yesterday been displaced?
Maybe.
More to follow.
Comments welcome!
Dr. Bob
