A loved one of mine
complains constantly.
It doesn’t matter how wonderful something is,
she always finds a fault with it.
Complaining makes her happy.
That’s one reason
why large companies track complaints.
The payoff for constant complainers
is the complaint.
They like to be listened to.
They don’t need stuff or action to make them happy.
If you listen to their complaints,
they’ll happily (or in this case, unhappily) continue to buy
(only you can decide whether the sale is worth it).
How to tell if you’re dealing with
a constant complainer?
Again, tracking.
Many companies have a sliding scale
of freebies they give to unhappy customers.
First call may be a stack of coupons for free cartons of orange juice.
Second call may be one coupon for a free carton.
Third call may be a $1 off coupon.
Until eventually,
the caller receives only a written thank you for their complaint.
If they call back after that,
you have a constant complainer.
What to do with constant complainers,
these masters of negative word of mouth?
If you can go without their sales,
cut them off kindly.
Refer them to the competition
(double plus – one less complainer for you,
one more complainer for them).
If you need their sales,
listen.