The goal of a businessman is to sell his products. And not just once.
To be successful a business needs repeat customers, and a repeat customer is basically a satisfied customer.
But how does a company know that his customers are happy?
To survive and flourish, a business needs a window to the outside world. And today this window is a website where it can show and promote its products.
One of the essential component of a good website is a communication channel. If a customer is dissatisfied, he wants the merchant to know it (at least I do). If he cannot express his unhappiness, he will never shop there again.
Amazingly many websites lack such an outlet.
The duty of a consumer (yes, consumers have to play their part) is to let a business know when he is dissatisfied. If he unable to do such a thing, he will get sore and bitterly badmouth the offending business.
To prevent such a thing, an organization needs to have a listening post, and be responsive. A mollified customer is usually a return customer.
A thoughtful website should also publish comments, good AND bad. And be truthful about it.
What prompted me to write this little piece is my experience with an ascending outfit called AirBnB.
AirBnB promotes worldwide the subletting of private rooms or apartments to travelers who want the comfort of home away from home. It has a glossy website full of appealing photographs and highly favorable comments.
I found the pictures and the description of the facilities advertised on the site to be highly questionable. Out of the 3 locations that I rented, I found 2 to be subpar.
The bathroom and the toilets of these flats would be laughable and totally unacceptable in the US.
I posted critical comments about these two places on AirBnB; they were never published. This leads me to question the veracity of all the other suspiciously favorable comments.
Personally, I am doubtful that I will ever use this outfit again. Especially in Paris.
If a landlord (and the outfit that sponsoring him) is playing fast and loose with the facts, he is to be confronted and exposed.
If it hurts, don’t sulk; complain, LOUDLY (especially on a social media)!
Alain