Naysayers vs. Yaysayers
April 22nd, 2008
You know what? I could go through and compare and contrast naysaying customers and yaysaying customers. But in the end, both of them will help you grow your company.
Instead, I’m going to point out the similarities:
They both care enough to get in contact with you.
They both want to hear from you.
Listening to both groups will make you better.
Both are opportunities to learn something new.
Both are opportunities for a conversation.
So love the naysayers. For they could one day become your greatest yaysayer.
Other posts by Spike.
Robert John Ed says:
Well put. What we often fail to realize about the customer who complains to us is that they are giving us a chance to explain, rationalize and fix what was wrong for them. These are actually the cream of the crop, they provide valuable feedback that otherwise we could never garner truthfully on our own.
They are FAR more valuable than the customers who choose not to speak to us, but simply walk away, never telling us what we did wrong.
Thanks for the reminder.
April 22nd, 2008 at 7:07 amChristy says:
Okay, maybe this crew knows… I remember my step-dad telling me repeatedly that for every one person that calls you to complain about your service (or product; he was selling carpet cleaning services), there’s 9 more who are just as unhappy, but didn’t bother to call.
I know he was quoting someone/something more solid than just his own experience, but for the life of me, I can’t find any references to this!
Surely someone here knows! Maybe? Please?
April 22nd, 2008 at 7:55 amMatt Galloway says:
All good points Spike, but I think the last point is the most insightful. Kool-Aid drinkers are Kool-Aid drinkers… poke them in the eye and they will sing your praises as being the best eye poker in all the land. So what’s the opportunity? How much more Kool Aid can they drink?
But a Naysayer… now there an opportunity. Flip one of those guys and you just might start something.
Of course, I’m not suggesting that you poke your Yaysayers in the eye, unless they’re into that sort of thing. And yes, of course, you praise them, reward them, hug them and love them and call them “George”. But this is easy, and everyone generally gets it.
Loving naysayers, on the other hand, is hard… or at least it can seem that way at first. People generally skip it because it’s hard… without realizing that these folks are potentially a bigger opportunity than the yaysayers. Your point is well made, but to me this is the one difference worth talking about.
-Matt
April 22nd, 2008 at 10:22 pm