Responding to Facebook complaints: 3 elements your response needs
A poor response to a Facebook complaint may cause more reputation harm than the complaint itself. Use these 3 elements to help shape your response, maintain integrity, and leave a great impression online while moving the conversation offline.
Thank you. Start each response by saying ‘thank you’ regardless of the reason for the post. Some examples include:
- •Thank you for sharing your concern…
- •Thank you for notifying/contacting us immediately…
- •Thank you for bringing this to our attention…
Acknowledge the issue, but don’t apologize. Apologizing for what the person has described is taking ownership that it actually happened. It puts the employee that has to reach out to the member at a disadvantage before they’ve even started the conversation, and anybody browsing your Facebook page is given the impression your credit union has to apologize often for not meeting expectations. Instead try these factual statements:
- •The member experience you’ve described is not the experience we strive for…
- •The situation you’re describing is not our expected results when using…
- •We would like to help you resolve the troubles you’re having with…
Take action. Offer an actionable event, given the highest level of attention, before the member makes demands. If they’ve already made demands, these responses will still work. This shows the member you’re taking their issue seriously, giving it the attention they feel it deserves, and keeps you from publicly promising things others may try to take advantage of and demand later. You’re also asking if it’s OK to contact the member and even though you’re sending the concern to a Vice President or Management level, you don’t have to promise that will be the person to reach out if it’s not appropriate:
- •We’ll bring this to the attention of the VP/Manager of [Department Name]. May we have someone contact you at the number we have on file to learn more about your experience/concerns?
- •I’ve sent your concern to the VP/Manager of [Department Name]. May we have someone contact you at the number we have on file to help resolve the troubles you’re having with…?
After using these three components in your response the member will do one of three things. Accept your invitation for someone to contact them (with or without additional commentary), refuse to have someone contact them, or not respond at all. If the member responds, either accepting or refusing the invitation, thank them again for reaching out to you and let them know someone will be in touch, or that someone is willing to contact them in the future if they would like. If the member doesn’t respond at all don’t continue trying to contact them in a public forum. In all three situations add notes to the member’s file so the representative working with them next can address any outstanding concerns.
The following is an example of these tactics used for an actual member complaint, received on Facebook on a weekend when the credit union wasn’t open (edits for privacy only):
Member: We’re on our 5-6 card to our accounts now (none have worked correctly) — It has been two years and I have not had any access to my account.
This is getting PATHETIC. I am looking forward to speaking with the B.B.B. or State Attorney General if this institution can’t figure these issues out ASAP.
Our checks arrived with the wrong addresses the first time, second time they never arrived at all — Finally the third time was a charm! If our mortgage wasn’t with ABC Credit Union we’d be long gone by now.
ABC Credit Union: Member -Thank you for sharing your experiences. The types of occurrences you’re describing are not the member experience we strive for at ABC Credit Union. May we have a manager or Vice President contact you on Monday to further discuss your account access concerns/issues?
Member: Yes please. My wife is going to the [City Name] Branch tomorrow to try AGAIN to get our latest card activated and working. If you look up my name in your system my phone number should be on file.
ABC Credit Union: Thank you for the opportunity to discuss your concerns. We look forward to reviewing your member experience as an opportunity to improve account access, via cards, for you and all other members. Someone will be in touch with you on Monday and we’ll be sure the [City Name] Branch Manager is aware of your situation before your wife arrives. Thank you again and have a pleasant weekend.
The member’s wife visited the branch on that Monday and their issues were resolved. The member then went back to their original post and wrote this:
Member: First I want to say THANK YOU for how responsive you have been to my complaint, second I want to thank [Branch Manager Name], as she has been super helpful from day one… I think the issues we have been having have been mostly due to computer systems and not the humans involved. As of today all our cards appear to be working correctly and I now have access to my accounts online!
ABC Credit Union: We’re glad to hear that you are happy with the services provided and that your card issues are resolved. This is the experience we hope all members have when working through a problematic situation. Thank you for the opportunity to review your experience and assist you with the computer/system errors. If you experience any future issues or concerns please do not hesitate to contact us.
Notice how the all caps “PATHETIC” turned into an all caps “THANK YOU” as well as excitement for online access, appreciation for the attention to the matter, compliments to the branch manager, and an honest assessment that the issues were probably system related and not the fault of the credit union staff.
