Every year, for obvious reasons, the month that just passed witnesses the greatest volume of retail and online purchases. With days to go before Christmas, many shoppers probably had already ordered at least one item from any one of thousands of online vendors. If so, you receive a confirmation email. Thereafter, your package arrives, on time usually but otherwise nothing unusual.
Before you know it and often before you’ve had a chance have to use the item, the vendor is beseeching you for a favorable review. This happens frequently to many people with whom I’ve discussed the issue.
Remarkably Unremarkable
When an ordinary purchase arrives as scheduled, does that merit posting an online review? For many people, the delivery is simply standard fair with nothing outstanding about it. Such deliveries have been occurring multi-millions of times for years.
There’s little reason why many inividuals would deem the situation sufficiently worthy to write a review, especially for mundane transactions. Something out of the ordinary, good or bad, would need to occur.
After obtaining a product, sometimes it takes days, or even weeks to fully assess the value of what you purchased. Does it operate as advertised? Does it handle the issue for which you went ahead and ordered it? Is the vendor’s customer service capability helpful? The idea of offering some type of favorable rating almost instantaneously is, on its face, ludicrous for many products much of the time.
Won’t You Please Take Our Survey?
On the phone, when you have to punch all the right digits before you are connected with a real person, sometimes you’re asked if you will stay online afterwards to complete a brief survey. If you opt to not participate, do you drop down in the calling queue? It is not something one can easily discern.
Regardless, the constant need for favorable reviews, attention, and feedback is getting out of hand. It seems as if every other time you’re on online or on the phone with some vendor, government agency, health-related group, or anywhere else, a message at the outset essentially asks for instant feedback. Do you want to stay on the phone or online to provide feedback? It’s your choice.
Here’s news for organizations everywhere: legions of consumer do not want to participate in your survey. They are not going to do your work. Listen to the call yourself and assess whether or not your representative handled the transaction adroitly. You determine whether or not a customer’s questions were answered. You ascertain whether or not your representative merits a favorable rating. Many consumers, if not all of them, have other things to do. Participating in surveys for routine and mediocre encounters is not among them.
Oh, and Here’s What Else You’ll Want
Directly following your purchase but before you receive it, what about websites which immediately send you all kinds of marketing communiqués? They urge you to tell your friends. They want you to know about other their products and services. They seek to ensure that you know they’re thinking of you!
Guess what? I don’t desire to be on your mailing list. I simply want the product or service that I ordered. Later I’ll let you know if I’m pleased by making a favorable comment or seeking to be on your mailing list.
To assume at the outset that I’m going to participate in your grand marketing scheme is folly. The first time that I’m quickly hit with one of these follow-up emails, I unsubscribe immediately.
Alms for the Poor
How about the notion of giving tips to people who dispense coffee, tea, and lattes. You’ve seen tip jars all over creation which invite the customer to participate or not. Anything more than that is aggressive.
Raise your prices if you’re not paying the employees enough such that they have to receive a tip for a 60-second task. It’s one thing to tip a restaurant wait staffer who’s been your server, and perhaps has made multiple trips to your table, first dispensing a menu, offering water, taking your order, delivering the goods, seeing if everything is okay, offering the bill, collecting your funds, and providing the correct change. It’s quite another thing when you walk up to a counter, order some small item, pay for it, and then are nudged for a tip.
Per given situation, if I have any pocket change I do tend to tip them …if I am so inclined, mainly because I’m rich and they’re not, and secondarily for their “service,” but the decision is mine alone.
