Are we nation of complainers? I wrote on a similar topic only a short while ago but now find myself drawn back here again. I think that popular culture makes us more inclined to have a whinge and a moan about things than perhaps our parents would have done a few decades ago. Maybe if you were a parent a few decades ago you would kindly let me know if I am right on this point. I of course, despite the grey hairs that are starting to appear, am far too young to cast my mind back to the 60’s or 70’s with any great meaning.
If you wanted to complain a few years ago you picked up the phone or dusted off the Basildon Bond note pad and put pen to paper. Maybe if the culprit was close to hand you would go in and ask to see the manager to express your concerns face to face.
Just as customer services have altered over the intervening years so has the methods we use to make a stand against “injustice”. People can now, as is often he case, hide behind a pseudonym and make their proclamation to the world, or at least the world that is connected to the other end of a phone line. In these instances it is mainly impossible to identify who they are, almost as if they don’t want to be identified so that these often embellished stories can never be substantiated or sorted out. These postings are more often than not made by people who don’t actually tell the business involved of their “plight” but opt for the easy route of complaining in public, not only is it now easy to post on the internet but it is easy never to actually deal with the issue head on. This isn’t to say that everyone does this of course, they don’t.
Taking a cold hard look at things it’s also apparent that some people use this new found public voice to make a statement when the object of their frustration just doesn’t give in to the pressure brought to bear. The consumer must realise that they aren’t always right and the perception that a business is big enough to stand a small loss, for instance because they changed their mind a few months down the line, doesn’t hold water. Businesses are just that, a business, they are not a charity and just as a business has an obligation to fulfil its customers expectations, so the customer has an obligation to fulfil their side of the deal as well. Good businesses will accept when there is an issue and deal with it, making any just complaint on the internet superfluous.
I am human, I have a life outside of my job at UFindUs, I am a consumer as well. The occasional sigh will escape my lips as I read what has been put on display for all to see, these sighs are mainly because the customer hasn’t accepted the situation for what it is or just doesn’t really have a full understanding of what they have entered into. Occasionally however it is because they are quite right and our system in some way has let them down.
Either way they take work to try to sort things out and clarify exactly what’s what. There is no doubt that blogging can get the consumer results, but before you next put fingers to keypad to compose your thoughts please just stop, pause for thought, and then try to work out if there is not a more effective way of getting your message across and dealt with. If you are a UFindUs customer then you can call our support line on 0845 0135 105 where we have a great team who are able to deal with any issues or queries that you want to raise.
Graham Armstrong – UFindUs Ltd
