I have heard businesses tell me that they are not going on social media because they don’t want anyone to post bad things about them. Is this a realistic expectation on their part or are they living in the clouds in today’s world of social media? Here’s a case study to get you thinking about what you should do.

My wife told me about a woman finding an earwig in her Chinese food who tried to return the meal and was refused a refund. If I found an earwig in my food, I would probably do the same. I bet you would as well. But it’s what happened to her and how the business treated her and what happened on social media that I want to share.

Every business wonders what they would do when disaster strikes. Let’s see what we can learn from this. I want you to put yourself in both pairs of shoes – the customer and the business – and let’s see how we can resolve this. Disclaimer – this is for learning purposes only. I have eaten at the Chow Family and I have had good meals. I have nothing against them. This is a good learning moment for businesses.

Here’s is what I found on Facebook: Customer complaining about finding an earwig in their rice.

I know that events can happen and many times these are isolated instances. I decided to look to see if there where anymore complaints. I checked on Facebook for the “Chow Family Restaurant” to see if there were any other comments. There were none. I checked on Twitter and I found this:

It is safe to say as of this moment that the Chow Family Restaurant has no social media presence, and no way as a business to comment back and correct the concern. I found out through a friend that the person was asked by the Chow Family Restaurant to take down their post on Facebook.

At this point, the Chow Family Restaurant should have resolved the complaint before the customer left on the restaurant and posted her concern on Facebook. When it gets to this stage, the complaint can gain wings and spread far and wide. Don’t believe me? Just ask McDonald’s Restaurant for their views on how quickly word can spread on social media.

So what is the learning moment?

  • Just because you are not on social media as a business does not stop others from talking about you on their social media.
  • If you are not on social media, you have not ability to comment and bring your side of the story.
  • You need to monitor what others are saying about you and your business to protect your business reputation.

So what’s the solution? I never like to bring a problem to the front that I don’t have a suggestion to fix the problem. As a Chrysler service adviser for 6 and 1/2 years, I have learned a lot about delivering great customer service. Here’s some thoughts on how the Chow Family Restaurant might fix their problem:

  1. Use the LEA method to resolve the situation: Listen, Empathize and Act – the fix for this problem involves the realms that it encountered. Yes, there is going to have to be a fix on Facebook as well. One of my guidelines here is “Don’t do anything stupid”. If you made a mistake, admit it and fix it; and move on.
  2. The Chow Family Restaurant may have to bring in a pest control service to reassure their customers that the Chow Family Restaurant really cares about their customer’s health and safety. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency may have to be involved as well.
  3. It appears that from the tweet that there are customer service issues with the staff. The Chow Family Restaurant should check to see if there is any truth to the rude server. There may be a cancer in the restaurant and it should be addressed. You want happy customers leaving the restaurant.
  4. Evaluate whether the staff needs some customer service training. This can only make the staff better. Better means happier customers and better tips for the staff.
  5. Get a social media presence and begin winning the hearts and minds with “Great Customer Service”. Be proactive and not reactive. Remember what customers say on Facebook is just as real as what they say at Tim Hortons. Don’t ignore the Internet. Make it work for you.

So what does it mean for our businesses?

  • We need to focus on delivering great customer service. People will talk about your customer service and how they were treated. You chose whether the talk is good or bad.
  • Have a social media presence and be there. Don’t just set it up and ignore it.
  • We need to monitor our social media for issues and speak into them as quick as possible. Ignoring a problem, especially when it hits social media, is a bad thing to do. At the very least, fix the customer and let them know you care. Mistakes can happen. Don’t let your customer lose out because you made a mistake.

Let me sum everything up for this learning moment. Here’s it is: Stuff happens. When it does fix it. Not every customer complaint is someone trying to rip your business off. Listen to the customer and act accordingly. Not sure what to do, get the owner involved. It’s your moment to “SHINE” and fix the situation, this making a happy customer. Don’t go out of your way to make your customer mad. It can really bite you in the end.