I was recently contacted by a small business and asked to revise or remove a negative review I had written online. It was a very polite and carefully worded request to avoid violating the review guidelines.
It’s a long-winded saga that even bores me, so I won’t go into it now. But by the time I wrote this review, I had already complained several times and given positive recommendations. The company tried to listen and understand, but I wasn’t really heard.
It takes me a lot of time to post bad reviews. The last time was when a seller at a vintage market we were visiting rudely snatched a CD out of my daughter’s hand and told her not to touch it. Chloe – who had just turned 12 and was planning on spending her pocket money – was shocked by this.
Music salespeople usually enjoy chatting with young customers and reminiscing about their own music memories. That was strangely aggressive.
The owner felt my review was unfair and felt it was not representative of the service he wanted to provide
The most recent incident was at least more civilized. But the service I received was inadequate for a long period of time. It had caused difficulties for my family and great concern for me personally. I was tired of being fobbed off.
At the time, it wasn’t practical to move our clients elsewhere, so sorting things out with the company seemed like the best option. Our conversations always followed a pattern: the business owner was “sad,” “accepted that there were challenges,” “hoped” to do better, and then described the company’s problems in detail.
The owner felt my review was unfair and felt it was not representative of the service he wanted to provide. His email highlighted what had gone well and then, predictably, pointed out the challenges his company faces as a small company in its industry.
I’ll be honest – this email upset me in all the wrong ways, even though it was so carefully worded and polite. When I was told that my experience was an anomaly compared to other customers, I just thought I was bullying them. I felt this minimized the impact of the company’s failings on me.
While logic told me that small businesses shouldn’t be above criticism, empathy crept up on me
It was interesting that something I had previously been told the company couldn’t provide miraculously had potential after my review. It wasn’t an ironclad guarantee or a direct incentive to write something positive, as that would have violated the review guidelines. But the conclusion was there – it was just very subtle.
I thought it best to ignore it all. I explained that I stood by my review as nothing had changed and therefore I would not revise or delete it.
Then Liam, my eldest, piped up that small businesses can easily go bankrupt, especially if you build a good reputation online. I started thinking – calling out a company for its failings doesn’t mean I want to trash it.
A while ago I wrote about how hard it is when you start to see something from everyone’s perspective. For me it’s often the classic head versus heart.
While logic told me that small businesses shouldn’t be above criticism – otherwise you’d never hear a bad word said about most British companies, whatever they do – empathy crept up on me. I saw things through a softer lens and wondered if I had been too hasty or too harsh.
Weekend essay: Why I hope we return to the original purpose of pensions
I thought about re-reading what I had written to make sure it was actually appropriate, so I went back to the company’s website to double-check a few points. That’s when I realized the company had quietly shifted its marketing focus to distance itself from the main point of my review.
I don’t blame the company for doing damage control, but that was the deciding factor in maintaining my rating. I changed one word to reflect the company’s new focus and that’s it. No more optimizations. No more commitment – we’re done.
It’s easier to hold big companies accountable when they do something wrong. I don’t think anyone has much sympathy for the banks and other large financial services companies when they are fined or exposed in the media for some wrongdoing.
But a small business seems different. The personal touch you get, perhaps a business decision born out of necessity because you can’t afford to employ a lot of staff or the latest technology, makes it inevitable. You interact with those involved as people and not as a corporate machine.
Outside of financial services, small businesses expect their size to mitigate a variety of sins
I can understand why my feedback may have been personally received by small businesses I have dealt with over the years. I say her baby is ugly. However, every time I’ve had an issue with a small company, they’ve cited their size as a reason to cut them some slack. This irritates me now.
Running a small business in the current economic climate is difficult and probably more challenging than ever before. But it depends on the territory if you choose it. Does size justify failure to meet reasonable customer expectations?
The FCA obviously doesn’t think so. Love it or hate it, I think it forces some companies to be better than they would be if it wasn’t breathing down their necks. But outside of financial services, small businesses expect their size to mitigate a variety of sins.
Part of my frustration is that some people run small businesses even though they’re not qualified for it. My husband knows someone whose dreams about this seem like a recurring nightmare.
Even the FCA can’t stop people from running a business if they have no idea
This guy tried to run a business twice and failed. He’s optimistic about getting lucky for the third time, but he surrounds himself with the wrong people – those who never challenge him to do anything. That always ends badly.
Even the FCA can’t stop people from running a business if they have no idea. I recently had an interesting conversation about this with retired consultant Harry Katz.
He sent me some information about a consulting firm that went bankrupt. It seemed like there were more staff than customers – but that’s a topic for another day.
https://www.moneymarketing.co.uk/features/weekend-essay-does-being-a-small-business-excuse-its-failings/