When a customer complains publicly, what do you do?
My first week leading customer support for a global software company, I received a frantic email alerting me to a video that a customer posted on YouTube. It was a video of them on hold with our support team…for over 20 minutes. Just sitting there, listening to our hold message…on loop. It didn’t have too many views…yet, and we certainly didn’t want to wait for it to go viral. The worst part is that we had no solution on the horizon; I couldn’t promise that our hold times would be better the next day.
I immediately called the customer and thanked them. That’s right…I didn’t try to change his mind.
I think I confused him. I certainly surprised him. “You want me to take the video down, don’t you? You can’t force me to do that.”
I didn’t ask him to take the video down. I didn’t try to change his mind.
“Not at all, you’re right. Thank you for holding us accountable.”
I just listened. In part, to let the customer get it off his chest. But mostly, I wanted to make sure I understood his concerns. I was transparent and told him that I couldn’t fix the hold times quickly but that my team and I would fix it. “We’re on it.” I also let him know that it was a priority and that I would keep him updated. And I did keep him updated.
He took the video down. He offered me the opportunity to fix the issue. And when we did, even though it took a few months, he was my and my team’s biggest fan, frequently praising us online. He became a reference and a fierce defender online.
I often see companies hide from customer complaints. That won’t work. In fact, it will only make things worse. Assuming the concern is valid, your best approach will always be to acknowledge and appreciate the feedback. It will buy you patience to fix the issue and immeasurable trust with your customers and prospects. And when you can share real progress updates, your customers will continue to give you the gift of candid feedback.
You may not always be able to stop the issue from going public. But you can apply the same principles and make a huge impact.
The Grammys learned…
Tonight, while watching the 2025 Grammys, the CEO of the Recording Academy Harvey Mason, Jr. took a few moments to talk about some of the challenges the Recording Academy has faced. It was an incredible response to some very public negative feedback, especially from artist The Weeknd.
Mason could have said that The Weeknd just had sour grapes. He could have dismissed the negative press completely. But he didn’t…and in the process, he demonstrated amazing leadership.
Check out Mason’s speech: “We’ve listened. We’ve acted. We’ve changed.”
Mason owned the issue, even sharing screenshots of the negative press. He didn’t shy away from the issues or try to explain them away. He shared what their guiding principles were in addressing the issue, demonstrating transparency in how they were making decisions. Mason provided updates on changes they had made with real data…not platitudes, but true tangible changes. Mason also talked about how they still had work to be done, demonstrating that you don’t have to have the issues completely addressed to share public updates. And the chef’s kiss was when Mason brought The Weeknd on stage to perform. You can’t get better than that! Going from someone who boycotted the Grammys to showing such support that they performed onstage.
This approach takes courage…but the payoff is huge.
How do you do it?
- Acknowledge the feedback and the issue and appreciate the customer for sharing their concerns.
- Be transparent about what you are going to do or have done. Share real examples and avoid generic statements.
- Recognize that transformation can take time, with yourself and your customers.
- And, of course, fix the issue.
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