To respond or not to respond?

[markblair]

When someone (either a current or former customer) goes on a hosting forum and blasts your hosting company, do you respond? And if so, in what way? I ask because I've seen negative threads toward hosting companies where the host replies later on in a very professional manner and they usually can get the issues resolved and even make others feel better about the host and the customer. I've also seen the opposite where the host comes back and slams the customer. Or another side where the host never responds letting the thread continue on without giving their side of the story.

So, is it better to ignore negative threads or respond to them? I'm not a host myself but I would think that you have to respond but it would be in your best interest that you respond in a very professional and courteous way. Explain what happened to cause the customer to post the thread about your company and offer some sort of resolution that is acceptable to both parties. What does everyone else think?

[vaserv]

I think its always best to respond to at least show that you do give a damn if nothing else. There are normally three sides to the story, the customer , the host and the truth. Its normally best to leave it to the end user to decide

Rus

[niyogi]

I've had a fair share of these with our company. In almost all cases, it's wise to reply professionally but also sternly should it require so. In this industry where people who are using your web *hosting* services spend so much time in front of their computers browsing websites in the digital world, you cannot hide anyhow.

I can't respect the threats though (which do happen quite often): "You better or I'll post on XYZ" kind of e-mails and tickets - I've learned that there really is a larger world out there to serve. :-)

Roj

[blue27]

I think you should respond.
A well stated professional response will make your company look good.

I have seen replies from hosts that blast the thread starter which of course makes the host look bad, so choosing your words wisely is important.

[markblair]

Another point to make is that I know I've seen threads posted by hosting customers that have no interest in having their issues resolved. They only want to damage the host. Some of these bashers were customers anywhere from months to years in the past and their experiences may be somewhat invalid due to them being away from that host for so long.

Also, as much as it is very important for a host to respond professionally, I fully believe that it's equally important for the customer to mention the problems they are having in a professional manner. Some people almost don't deserve responses but it's still in the hosts best interest to respond and clear the air.

[tranz]

Well, in this business perception is everything. We all know of one guy companies that look big and deal with ex-clients or clients in a professional manner. This gives them the look of being bigger and more professional.

We have also all seen some of the posts from a local hosting company here in Orlando that starts with a "V" and they have been rude and have slammed people.

As a business owner we have the responsibility to respond to the good and bad posts. If a response isnt given then things start to look fishy to the public.

[ldcdc]

We have also all seen some of the posts from a local hosting company here in Orlando that starts with a "V" and they have been rude and have slammed people.Nice riddle! :P

IMO negative reviews can easily be the most lucrative threads for a host, if the host manages to handle the situation wisely. :)

[Chicken]

This is a good topic (very pertinent to hosts and web hosting forums, pretty much right up the alley). Something you have to realize... Many people don't stumble upon hosting forums because everything is wonderful with their provider. They also are unlikely to post an "all's well" review. But if they feel the service is sub-par (less than acceptable for the money) or that they've been wronged, you will see it on the forum, and often not just on one forum, but all the forums.

I think there's not one way to respond, because there's a few types of "blasting." Sometimes people just want to let out their frustrations. Bottom line is that some expectation wasn't met, and blasting them back isn't going to change or diffuse that. Introducing yourself, accepting responsiblility, and offering to talk privately (call, etc.) about the issue goes pretty far. You could turn a disgruntled customer into a life-long one.

Also, an old sales trick... asking what you can do to turn the situation around into a postive one. Often what customers would want is far less than you'd be willing to offer. Then give/send them somethign a little extra.

A lot can be done before all of that though. If customers expect 100%, give them 110%. They'll be willing to overlook a few problems here and there down the road.

[ldcdc]

Chicken, that's well put. Did you work in sales? :)

[Chicken]

Yes, and often we'd have a problem with shipping (the shipping dept. would send out the wrong thing). Not a huge deal when you're talking small items, but when I sold $10,000+ worth of product that the person needed yesterday and it was sent out wrong, you quickly learn 1) what you can do to prevent things like that from being an issue in the first place, since you can't prevent it from happening and 2) how expensive it is to gain another customer, thus what you need to do to keep them when it does happen.

The asking trick was told to me by one of those really old school sales guys (you know, about 100 years old). But the important part is asking, then giving a bit more than they ask for (and added bonus to surprise them, above and beyond yadda yadda).

[Everyday]

Something else that really helps is to keep all conversations documented through email or tickets. If phone conversations are had then be sure to send a follow up email referencing the items in the conversation. This not only helps you to keep everything straight on the customers account but it also prevents the customers from exagerating the truth in their posts. I'm not saying that anyone lies in their posts but most of the flaming posts tend to leave out relevant information. The exception can be found of course, especially when there are multiple complaints about the same host.

Remember that the customer is always right but that no customer is worth a pile of aggravation. If you've made a mistake then own up to it. Be sure to remember that business is business, it's not personal. To many hosts tend to take things personally and that is evident by their responses but the same can be said for the customers.

In a nutshell just remember to keep your cool and be as professional as possible, whether you're the host or the customer.

[xAngelx]

Whether or not I respond to threads bashing my company usually depends on the poster.

If they have a legitimate issue then of course I respond with my side, then take it private to ask them how I can make it up to them.

If they don't have a legit issue then I tend to ignore them and let them make fools of themselves as has happened a few times.

Still other times it's a grey area and I tend to respond/not respond depending on the specific issue being discussed. I can certainly remember a number of threads about us.... oh say about a year or so ago :P And I made a point of ignoring them as 99% of the negative posts came from people that were competitors, not clients. I dealt with the clients themselves privately and off the forums. Possibly I should have made more of an effort to repond anyways, but I made the choice that anyone I would want as a client would do their homework rather than taking every post at face value.

So far I don't regret it. Fact is you can only do so much when someone posts about your company and valid complaint or not you can end up wasting a lot of time posting on forums instead of running your business if you're determined to answer every single post made about you.

[HostChoose]

It is always best for a host to respond to any response to their service no matter if it is negative or positive. They should however always respond in a positive and professional manner. Those that do not respond as such will eventually be gone. Positive, professional responses from hosts to solve an issue are viewed with much more respect and forgiveness for the issue than the negative response to an attack. The host will always be judged by their response to any given situation.

Kevin

[markblair]

Whether or not I respond to threads bashing my company usually depends on the poster.

...

If they don't have a legit issue then I tend to ignore them and let them make fools of themselves as has happened a few times. Even if the person is posting 100% false information, wouldn't you want to respond? The reason I ask is because even if they are wrong, someone will lurk into the thread and judge you on that false information. While you may not want a customer that doesn't do a little research, their research may be found in the negative threads. I'd much rather respond and (in a nice way) call the person out than just hope they make a fool of themselves. :)

[xAngelx]

Mark it would all depend, I take things on a case by case basis, but my point was that at some point you have to just let it go as you can end up spending all your time posting and you cannot run your company if all you do is troll forums defending your company against every person that decides to slam it.

There's a point where you just have to say "screw it" and focus on your clients, not your detractors. Also, as I said, some ppl may base their decision on what they read in the negative threads, but if that's all they want to base their opinion on then really I don't want those clients, IMHO they're usually the most demanding, disrespectful and rude people. Case in point look up the latest thread on WHT (mind you it's months old) about AN by the zontrixhosting guy.

Guy signed up, bugged the hell out of my staff and insulted/harrassed them for nearly a week to help him with 3rd party products we don't support etc (while launching sales pitches at them for another company) and then when a single staffer finally got fed up and blocked him he ran to WHT to post. Course he quickly was burned to the ground by other WHT posters (actually kinda shot himself in the foot with his own chat logs lol).

Why respond to people like that? When someone starts crap like that there usually is no "making it up to them". They started the post to do nothing but cause trouble and damage a company's rep and there's nothing you can say to change that so why waste time. I still read WHT every few days and I see lots of stuff like that going on. Sometimes it's legit complaints (which should be responded too) but sometimes it's ppl determined to cause trouble and nothing you can say will change that so why get dragged into a war of words when you have a business to run?

[markblair]

You've made some good points here Donna. These are things I think about as well. As mentioned above, some people aren't interested in working with you on a specific issue. They just want to destroy you. As with anything else, there will always be the special circumstances that either make you respond or not respond. It's good to hear a little bit about both sides too. :)

[Chicken]

Why respond to people like that?
I didn't read the post, but a response to someone/thing like that could even be something like, "Thak you for trying us, I'm sorry we weren't able to satisfy your needs. We try very hard to be the perfect provider for clients but we do realize that there isn't one best provider for everyone."

Something along those lines anyhow. Fact is, no matter how good you are, people's expectations vary and crap happens. If everyone *did* sign up with one provider, there'd be someone who didn't like something.

And then there are those who probably wouldn't be satisfied no matter what you do, even if you paid them to use your services. Negative reviews by those types (the "I'm unreasonable" type), can be OK, as many people are able to detect the psychosis and pretty much side with the seemingly normal and polite provider.

[xAngelx]

Yes Chicken... but.... in cases like the one I pointed out any attempt to post would be seen as both lending credibility to the poster (and in this case it wasn't a matter of us not satisfying his needs, it was a case of he was determined to find fault with us whether we did things right or not, his own chat logs proved that he was just trying to stir up trouble lol), and also, reponding would just be provoking another attack from the person.

As I said before, at some point you just have to decide if it's worth a war of words or just leave them to shoot themselves down.

[GordonH]

Think yourself lucky.

I know of a hosting company that was blackmailed by someone who threatened to post lies about them all over the internet.
Their lawyers recommended settling (i.e. paying up) in return for a signed agreement from him that he would not do it, because the cost to the company if he did would be more in lost business than they had to pay out as a single payment. The signed agreement prevented him going back for a second bite at the cherry.

We are all in the wrong job.

[ldcdc]

Are you 100% sure there wasn't some truth to what the customer was about to divulge in public?

[GordonH]

Are you 100% sure there wasn't some truth to what the customer was about to divulge in public?

Yes.

The problem with people doing that sort of thing is that its possibke to prove that something DID happen, but in defence its impossible to prove that something DID NOT happen.
Its a bit like the customers we get who say "prove that I didn't pay the renewal fee or give me a free year".
Its actually impossible to prove someone didn't pay you!

[xAngelx]

See now I wouldn't have paid off the person, I'd let them post then sue them for slander etc. Unless of course the company did do something wrong, but if not I'd have let the person post all they want and then let my lawyer deal with them. No need to cave in to every little blackmail artist out there.

[GordonH]

You can't sue someone who has no money.

QED

[xAngelx]

Sure you can, just don't expect to get anything when you win, still better than paying them off for no reason.

[Chicken]

Yeah, I've sued someone who had no money before. I still got screwed on the deal and (as an added bonus), it cost me a lot of time and aggrevation. I probably still have the worthless judgment around here somewhere. Yea.

[ldcdc]

I'm with Donna on this one, which is why I asked my question. I would find it very hard to cave in to a blackmail, even if it would be logical to do so.

On the other hand, I consider myself to be a fair person. If I were wrong, I would compensate with a reasonable amount.

[Aussie Bob]

When someone (either a current or former customer) goes on a hosting forum and blasts your hosting company, do you respond? And if so, in what way? I ask because I've seen negative threads toward hosting companies where the host replies later on in a very professional manner and they usually can get the issues resolved and even make others feel better about the host and the customer. I've also seen the opposite where the host comes back and slams the customer. Or another side where the host never responds letting the thread continue on without giving their side of the story.

So, is it better to ignore negative threads or respond to them? I'm not a host myself but I would think that you have to respond but it would be in your best interest that you respond in a very professional and courteous way. Explain what happened to cause the customer to post the thread about your company and offer some sort of resolution that is acceptable to both parties. What does everyone else think?
Well, to be honest, I've not had that many negative threads complaining about my time with HTTPme. That's not to say there were never any unhappy clients - there were a few, but their issues were resolved inhouse, and the client didn't feel the need to go airing the issue in a public forum.

They usually post these issues in public, when they can't resolve it in private. Usually posting in public is their last option, if they want the host's attention to resolve an outstanding matter.

It's best just to keep a cool head, and if you feel you need to give the other side of the story, to do that, but be polite. But don't get into an argument with your client or ex-client, in a public forum. Doesn't look good.

[Chicken]

Well, to be honest, I've not had that many negative threads complaining about my time with HTTPme. That's not to say there were never any unhappy clients - there were a few, but their issues were resolved inhouse, and the client didn't feel the need to go airing the issue in a public forum.
Being quick to resolve issues is certainly one way to be proactive about negative threads. Also, it may come down to the type of customer you are targetting. Some providers target the bottom feeders who pay the least, yet demand the most attention and bark the loudest when things aren't perfect. to top it off, they're also the first to jump ship even after you've bend over backwards.

Also, you may have run a tight ship. Like you said, it's not to say you've had unhappy customers, however I really have noticed something over the years of reading way too many posts about web hosting. The providers (even the larger ones which you'd think would have a proportionally greater amount of negative threads) that have it together really don't get that many negative threads about them. In other words, there's often some truth to the madness.

Long-time WHTers (I'm talking ol' school) also saw the rise and fall of many providers. What many might call, "the flavor of the month." As that board grew, from time to time providers became "the favorite" and with that recognition often came growth that was unmanageable. it was ard to watch how quickly the raves turned ugly for some. Start good is one thing, end good is another. Providers who have come through this (even with a few scrapes and bruises) aren't to be dismisssed, as ones who haven't are likely to go through that period.

I miss the early days, heh.

:: wonders where the heck he's going with this ::