When you have a true solution, I mean a real steadfast solution to a nagging problem (even a small problem), it's a win-win. No one side benefits more than the other. No unfair, lopsided exploitation takes place, just good, clean benefits for both parties. This isn't a negotiation, it's communication. It's not a compromise, it's working together. A business sells a product or service that, by nature, solves a problem for a customer. A customer buys this product or service because they believe in one way or another it will benefit them. When they buy it and are unsatisfied, both parties lose. The business loses their most valuable asset, not a sale, but a happy customer. The customer loses because their hard-earned money was spent on something that did not bring them the amount of satisfaction they were expecting. They have every reason to expect certain outcomes when they spend their money.
You even know this is true as a business owner. When you pay to ship a product to a customer, you expect it to be there when the shipping company told you it would be. Well it's the same thing for that customer who bought your product. They had certain expectations of how your product or service would benefit them. If it doesn't, wouldn't you like to know why so you can stop the bleeding and make sure this expectation is met in the future?
Now both parties have lost something, and neither walks away for the better. But the whole point was supposed to be to make everyone happy. How did this perfect scenario go wrong?!? Lack of communication. Now there's a ton of reasons why that could be, but simply, how about this? With this world's ever moving fast pace, it is becoming less and less convenient to track an employee down and tell them about your experience. Or perhaps you have to call the manager to the table, and with ten million things on your to do list, it's just not a big enough deal to waste theirs and your time. In fact, most often (and I mean most often as in this is based on multiple studies) we leave without saying anything, only to never return. And if the business is really unlucky, we might even get online and write a poor review. Here's an example. Someone recently told me he has taken his wife to 4 different salons in the past year. Each time she has her hair done, the hair dresser asks how it looks. She says great, pays, tips, and leaves, only to walk out to the car and immediately tell her husband she hates it and they're never going back there. Both parties lost, so you can see why this is not conducive to either party. But let's not portray it as always being negative feedback. What about the times that you had absolutely great service but it just wasn't convenient enough to get ahold of some corporate office or call someone's manager over to tell them?
You see, as customers, we often fail to see how important that one small remark can be for a business. But as a business owner, the only way I can get better, as well as reward my star employees, is to know about it. Because really, the only rotten feedback I can ever get is the feedback I never receive. When I know what you want as a customer, when I can truly understand the expectations that you bring with you when you come to spend money at my business, then, and only then can I make sure I'm providing you with the best experience possible. And why do I care that you have the best experience possible? Because without you, I'm nothing. And every single one of you make up enough yous that I can afford to stay in business. So you see, by you giving me your feedback I can help make both of us happy. I can turn the negotiation/compromise into a win-win situation for both of us, no sacrifices to be made on either end. You need an easy, convenient way to say exactly what is on your mind without feeling embarrassed, because at the end of the day for me to make this the best experience, that's exactly what I need to know. What's on your mind?