this is not scientific, but i would bet that unhappy customers are more likely to respond to surveys than satisfied ones. likewise, i usually only compliment a company when they go "above and beyond" with exceptional customer service though i'm perfectly happy with most companies i deal with. there is probably a middle ground of satisfied customers that you aren't hearing from. i could be wrong, i'm not exactly sure what your company does. just my two cents.

I would agree. You have to think of the rule 1 to 4. For every one person mad, there are usually four completely happy but less willing to write and say so. Again completely unscientific but don't let it get to you...

Not to take away from whatever may be learned from the complaints, but something tells me that your (apparently) dissatisfied customers may become your most loyal customers, if you're able to appease them. I don't know how many people you're talking about, but even a simple reply from you may go a long way toward assuaging them. And how much substance *is* there to the complaints? And how much consistency do you see?

Also, there are bad customers. No one ever talks about this, but you want to give your poor customers bad service and drive them off. What?? I'm completely serious. Some customers are such a pain that they aren't worth it. They whine and complain about everything, or they soak up so much of your time such that you lose money on them. Back in the IQ Factory days we set things up where the Sales and Customer Services department's performance were tied together, and they had to work together to close deals. Sometimes we would run into a prospective customer and we could just tell that they were going to be a big troublemaker. We would purposely avoid closing deals with them. You know the types - you cannot satisfy them ever. You don't want them as your customer - they will bad mouth you no matter how hard you try! Or they are greedy takers. Gimme, gimme, gimme; take take take: they make damn sure that they squeeze the blood out of you. You bend over backwards for them and wind up losing money on the deal. And the whiney little babies that need their weeetle hands held all the time. Same thing: they soak up so much of your time, they end up costing the company money - the sale winds up actually being a loss! And let's not forget the idiot-customer. These are the worst kind! There are so many ways a moron can screw you over. Would you sell an electric carving knife to a dolt with a freezing IQ? You'd be crazy if you did. He might try and use it to shave his face - then he accidentally cuts his nose off and sue you and then you get all this bad press. Even if an idiot actually uses your product appropriately, do you really want him touting your company to other people? What kind of representative is he? If some gerbel brained fool told you that the RCA tv that they just bought was the greatest, would you go out and buy one, or would you avoid it at all costs? Most companies have separate customer service and sales departments. The sales reps are insensitive to customer selection because all they care about is getting their commission. It's a short-money, make a quick buck now mentality. So Erica, if you are a victim of this top-level management foolishness, don't let yourself get down...

Some strange feeling seized me when I read your comment, Jason. Does Jason's post look strange here? No. So Jason, what is the point in your comment? There always has to be some point. Nothing personal tho. regards, Anderson

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