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Advice re answering complaint emails
I work as a manager in a company, and one of the tasks I perform (though it is not specifically my job, just one small part of it) is to answer complaint mails from customers.
Yesterday someone from our corporate office forwarded a link to a website, where someone had made a negative comment about our company. It was literally only one sentence from an anonymous blogger. I was then asked by my manager to investigate this 'complaint' and try to contact the person etc.
Frankly, I refused to do this, for the following reasons -
1. It's NOT a complaint. Anyone who wants to complain to our company can contact us and we will obviously respond and deal with the issue.
2. It's an opinion, and an anonymous opinion at that.
3. The sentence was extremely vague, with no details, context or description to verify the comment.
4. Like every other major company, no matter how good they are they will ALWAYS have negative comments posted on websites, including this one.
Now the question is, can a company force a manager to get involved in such matters if the employee refuses? As I said, answering complaints is part of my job description, but as I said earlier, these are not technically complaints.
My personal feeling on this is an 'all or nothing' scenario. You should either ignore such things completely, because they will always happen and you will never stop people posting comments on website - I believe it's futile to try and stop it from happening. However, if a company decides it wants to deal with such issues on websites and social media sites, then employ people to do it. Some large companies do, such as Transport For London. I know they answer their comments on Facebook, for example.
But I was wondering where I stand on the issue of refusing to get involved in this type of thing.
Yesterday someone from our corporate office forwarded a link to a website, where someone had made a negative comment about our company. It was literally only one sentence from an anonymous blogger. I was then asked by my manager to investigate this 'complaint' and try to contact the person etc.
Frankly, I refused to do this, for the following reasons -
1. It's NOT a complaint. Anyone who wants to complain to our company can contact us and we will obviously respond and deal with the issue.
2. It's an opinion, and an anonymous opinion at that.
3. The sentence was extremely vague, with no details, context or description to verify the comment.
4. Like every other major company, no matter how good they are they will ALWAYS have negative comments posted on websites, including this one.
Now the question is, can a company force a manager to get involved in such matters if the employee refuses? As I said, answering complaints is part of my job description, but as I said earlier, these are not technically complaints.
My personal feeling on this is an 'all or nothing' scenario. You should either ignore such things completely, because they will always happen and you will never stop people posting comments on website - I believe it's futile to try and stop it from happening. However, if a company decides it wants to deal with such issues on websites and social media sites, then employ people to do it. Some large companies do, such as Transport For London. I know they answer their comments on Facebook, for example.
But I was wondering where I stand on the issue of refusing to get involved in this type of thing.
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Comments
Whilst I don't necessarily disagree with your views on the matter I think you know the answer.
Technically they can't force you to do anything but it is part of your job.
But there is more to it isn't there.
Just my pennyworth of advice.
I understand your view that, as a one off remark it's best left rather than draw attention to it but your Line Managers may have a genuine ethos of "service recovery".
Certainly, when I dealt with complaints the most disgruntled customers were often the most impressed when they were actually listened to.
You've been asked to perform a reasonable and positive action.
If you feel that strongly you could make it clear you're happy to comply but ask why they think an anonymous opinion is worth pursuing.
They may, of course, feel the question shouldn't need to be asked.
Totally agree - also with fainéant's comments.
It's up to the company to decide what is important and what is not - not you - at least not until you become the CEO.
to decide whether to respond or not to comments over Social Media - In this case I think doing nothing would be better rather than to highlight the blog - but I guess you can only do what you are asked within your job description
It would be worthwhile asking for clarification whether this is a one off event or if it's a new task he will be asked to add to his work.
Look on it was a positive! New skills are always good to learn.
Publicly stated opinions need a make-over initiated at management level, not the complaints department!
Won't help the OP of course, management often play "follow the leader" with anything new. You will probably have to go along with their delusion.
As someone said above, it's a reasonable request. On where you stand on refusing to action the request, I think you know the answer. You can choose to refuse but your management can also choose to talk to you for refusing to do what is a reasonable request. If everybody refused to do what is asked because their personal opinion is its pointless then nobody would get anywhere.
Having seen the really horrible abuse that my employer (a public transport company) gets on Twitter and Facebook, I really feel sorry for the people who deal with social media streams for big companies day to day. If it were me, I'd prefer not engage with people who frame valid complaints in such awful terms but then I suppose you'd run the risk of the business appearing faceless and disinterested. For better or worse we have to accept that these days social media and the internet have the potential to make or break a business. In my spare time I am involved with a small charitable organisation which has really benefitted from the exposure you can gain on Facebook, but which has also had to deal with a number of troll attacks and people who like to grind axes in public.
I would just do as you were told
As a manager I assume you tell others what to do, what would your reaction be to the retort "nothing to do with me guv" as you have refused to do as you were told the harms done as an apparent authority in your company and as a manager why are you asking complete unknowns what to do
It would be great if your boss read this I doubt he/she can sack you but your promotion chances have gone down
It's a pretty disgraceful attitude for somebody paid to do a job isn't it
In the meantime I would just comment to the blogger that you would be happy to discuss the icomment if he wished to identify himself and explain his issue in more detail. He won't, so that kind if ends it.
http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-bug2.htm