It used to be hard for customers to tell others about their positive or negative consumer experiences. Sure, they could complain to their spouses about bad service or regale friends with a pleasing event, but their reactions rarely went further unless they were so miserable or overjoyed that they went out of their way to share.

Enter the Internet. “Word of mouse,” it turns out, is more prevalent and more powerful than “word of mouth.” Sites such as complaints.com and my3cents offer forums for customers to praise or complain. According to John Goodman, an ASQ customer service expert, consumers are now four times more likely to hear about a bad experience than a good one.

The article quoting Goodman appeared in the StarTribune as part of a story about Comcast’s efforts to improve customer service. The public comments on the article open a window to how “word of mouse” empowers people to share their experiences. Of 63 comments on the article:

• 46 complained about Comcast
• 4 praised Comcast
• 7 complained about Comcast’s competitors

The Baldrige Criteria ask how “you listen to customers to obtain actionable information and to obtain feedback on your products and your customer support.” (3.2a1) “Word of mouse” provides a new and valuable listening post.

The Criteria also ask how “your customer complaint management process ensures that complaints are resolved promptly and efficiently” and enables “you to recover your customers’ confidence.” (3.2a3) It’s not enough to listen: You must have processes in place to resolve complaints and recover confidence.

Through “word of mouse,” Comcast now has at least 46 new opportunities to recover its customers’ confidence.

Help grow our community:

(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

 Loading ...