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Corporate (mis)communication

Let's have a chat about bad communication and customer relations.

Joanne Carew
By Joanne Carew, ITWeb Cape-based contributor.
Johannesburg, 08 Jun 2016

I've been having a bad experience, with the customer experience. I would liken my recent communication nightmares with the opening scene of Jim Carrey's 2008 comedy, "Yes Man".

For those of you who haven't seen the film - you really should watch it, it's fantastic - it begins with Carrey blatantly avoiding phone calls from a friend as he browses around his local video store. When he does accidently answer the phone, he provides the person on the other line with several excuses as to why he didn't pick up; explaining that he is at home, is super busy and simply cannot go out that evening. But little does he know this very same friend is standing outside at the window of that very same video store, literally watching the deceitful Mr Carrey blow him off.

My interactions with public relations professionals, communications departments and brand spokespeople over the last few months have left me feeling exactly like that friend. Watching, helplessly, as the person I am attempting to contact unashamedly leaves me standing in the cold outside a video store. I do realise I'm being a tad dramatic here but you get the picture.

Allow me to elaborate.

As a journalist, part of my job involves getting information from those in the know about anything from product launches and the latest trends, to securing comment around news stories or industry developments. For one of my recent articles, this meant getting in touch with various local retailers to find out a little more about the tech offerings they have in their stores. And by that I mean attempting to get in touch. And by that I mean failing dismally to get in touch. And by that I mean being remarkably unsuccessful at getting anyone to speak to me or reply to my e-mails or answer my calls.

Here is where I keep hitting a problem. As consumers, and members of the press, we now have so many touch points that we can use to contact our favourite brands. Had a great meal somewhere? You can tag the restaurant in an Instagram snap. Have a query about a product? Why not tweet at the brand? Want to complain about a bad experience? You can always post something on their Facebook page.

These channels can work really well, if the brands behind them manage them properly. But in my experience, and I do acknowledge there are exceptions to this rule, they can actually make it easier for the Jim Carreys of this world to simply ignore you. And they most certainly make it ever-easier for people to pass the proverbial buck.

It's not you, it's me

When it comes to poor public relations, actually, it most certainly is you. I find it astounding that the people who are supposed to be communicating with and "having relations" with the public seem to be so very bad at it. In an attempt to get comment from a local outdoor adventure mart, I was "united" with the brand's head of communications.

Well, let's just say I phoned this individual several times and left countless messages and did not get a single response. I actually left her so many messages that I could recite my whole speech about who I was and why I wanted to chat to her without even thinking.

I find it astounding that the people who are supposed to be communicating with and "having relations" with the public seem to be so very bad at it.

Now I understand that people are busy and that flooding someone's voicemail with messages may irritate rather than illicit a response but quite honestly, I don't care. We all have elements of our jobs that are less appealing than others. But when it is your primary duty to communicate with the public - or with pesky, persistent journalists - then that's your job. And if you're too busy to handle these things, then you should decline the offer, redirect the query to someone who can help, or hire an assistant.

If you do so happen to go the assistant route, be sure to train them properly. On another occasion, I contacted one of SA's largest retailers and found myself dealing with someone who simply wasn't equipped with the right skills to handle my requests. After several weeks of woolly responses and finally receiving something that was hardly worth publishing, I was forced to have a rather firm telephone conversation to get the information I required. Again, I am not saying these organisations have to answer my questions or kowtow to my wishes but if they are unable or unwilling to assist, all they need do is say so.

Looking at the whole thing from another perspective - perhaps it is me? Maybe I just need to accept that as a journalist, part of my job entails dealing with people who don't want to deal with me? Having to literally pester and bug and nag and bully people until they acknowledge my existence?

I'm sure the comms and PR crowd would be able to have a similar rant about journalists who don't return their calls. We have all of these tools to communicate with each other but I sometimes think they've actually made it easier for us to avoid each other.

The way I see it is this: if everyone just did their job properly, none of us would be left standing outside a video store waiting for someone to answer the phone.

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