I rarely book a hotel or eat at a new restaurant without first checking what customers are saying about the business at online sites like Yelp! and Tripadvisor. If I have to spend money on these things, I try to only select businesses that have earned a good reputation with their customers. After I eat at a new restaurant or stay at a new hotel, I try to always post a review and share my perspective with other customers.
I took a trip to Phoenix recently and reviewed Monti’s restaurant where I had dinner and the Hilton Garden Inn where I stayed. I’ve written before about my very positive experience with Monti’s in my post entitled “Social Business in Action.” A screen shot of my Yelp review of the Hilton Garden Inn is below:
On March 17, 2011, the manager of the Hilton Garden Inn sent me this personal e-mail:
Dear Mr. Simmons:I just wanted to thank you for choosing the Hilton Garden Inn Phoenix Airport and for taking the time to fill out the Hilton e-mail survey. We appreciate your feedback and I will be sharing your comments with our staff, especially the part about the Business Center printer. If there is anything I may do to assist you during your next stay with us, please do not hesitate to contact me at anytime. We look forward to seeing you again soon!
Sincerely,
Randy Forrest
General Manager
Hilton Garden Inn Phoenix Airport
randy.forrest@hilton.com
602-470-0500
Oops! While I sincerely appreciate this e-mail response to the concerns I expressed when I responded to their e-mail survey, I don’t think Randy knows that I also reviewed his business on Yelp! Whereas only Randy and his staff see how I responded to their survey, everyone can see my comments about his business on Yelp! I know Randy cares about his business because he took the time to send me this e-mail, but others would never know this because of his silence in response comments on Yelp!
I love to see businesses listening and responding on Yelp or other social platforms like Twitter and Facebook. I’m especially impressed if a business responds promptly, personally, and publicly to a negative review or comment. I think you should be responding to every comment – good and bad – with either a sincere “Thank you!” or an apology and intent to improve. Impressive public responses on Yelp! and other platforms can become powerful social objects that customers share with others in their social networks.
If people are talking about your business and you are not listening and responding, it sends me a very clear and public signal that you are unremarkable. If you are not paying attention to what people are saying about you on the world-wide web, you are probably not paying proper attention to customers when they are on your property.
If you will make an effort to show up, listen, and respond to your increasingly connected customers, you can easily differentiate yourself from your competition – most of whom are sleeping though this time of tremendous strategic opportunity offered by social business
Related Posts:
Ugly Customer Service Is Bad Social Business
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Can’t agree more, Bret. Besides, this reminds me of I used to serve people with a part-time job and since that time I had kept trying to think as a customer when I was an employee. What I wanna employees do as I’m a customer, I would do same things as I’m an employee. You must take your business seriously first, and then expect customers to take your business seriously. Your experience really impresses me and so glad I got a good choice when I visit Phoenix.
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Bret L. Simmons Reply:
March 21st, 2011 at 12:14 am
If you ever visit Phoenix, Robert, make sure to eat at Monti’s! I think the Hilton Garden Inn is a consistently good property, and there are several to choose from in Phoenix. Thanks! Bret
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I love Yelp, and refer to it basically whenever I go out to a new restaurant. I recently started posting reviews on Yelp, since I go out to eat everyday at lunch. The other day, I was out to eat with a co-worker and we went to a horrible sushi restaurant that came highly recommended on Yelp, but that was brand new so it did not have a lot of traffic yet. When we were done, I mentioned how I was going to give them poor ratings on Yelp for service and quality. She mentioned that the reviews for restaurants where we work are usually pretty horrible and she wishes she could delete them sometimes. Long story to get to my point, but I had to correct her and let her know that all comments and reviews are helpful, whether negative or positive! I wish I knew who in my organization was in charge of seeking out and reading these reviews, because I’m sure that negative experiences are not responded to unless maybe if they are posted to our Facebook. Great post and I’m going to start looking for your reviews on Yelp!
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Bret L. Simmons Reply:
March 28th, 2011 at 11:30 pm
I too love Yelp! and the attitude you describe the business person had is unfortunate. Glad you corrected her! If they don’t listen to what people are saying they are making a big mistake. Thanks! Bret
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Erin Wootan Reply:
March 28th, 2011 at 11:34 pm
Unfortunate attitude: yes. Lack of education about social media and how it works: definitely. I think the lack of information about how to properly respond to data in the social media world is the reason for the ignorance, not just on my co-worker’s part, but on the part of a large collection of the business world. And I’m not making excuses for them, but it is up to those of us who are educated and informed to pass along the information and make sure the problems are corrected. This person is getting ready to join the MBA program and I will definitely be recommending your class!
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Bret L. Simmons Reply:
March 29th, 2011 at 12:11 am
Yea! People like you that know by doing have an opportunity to provide real leadership in this space. Don’t stop, and all your hard work will pay off. Thanks! Bret
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