Is it easier to complain than compliment?
Over there on the Seminole Heights blog there's been a lot of talk about bad service.
This here comment brought up a point that there's a lot more complaining than complimenting. I wondered about that, since my little spot here in Blogville has a whole lot of complaining on it. Hell, it's what got me doing this to begin with.
Anyhow, I figured that it's sort of like tipping, just sort of. Should you compliment when a person just does the minimum of what is expected? Meets expectations ain't really a high goal worthy of praise, it's just what someone should be doing anyway. I'd say if on a scale of one to ten you're getting all fives on your performance, be it your job, your business, your representation of your constituents, or whatever you might not really be deserving of anything more than your customers paying their bill, leaving a minimal tip, or having just enough turnout to keep you in office or maybe keep the other guy out. If, however you fail to meet expectations that's when the complaints start. Now, some folks have unrealistic expectations, but most of us just want what's right. Since most of that postin' over there was about restaurants I'll use that as the example here. I'd say most folks just want moderate prices, decent quality, and prompt polite service. That expectation is why chain restaurants tend to fare so well. It's a known quantity, and you have a good idea when you go, what the food is going to taste like, how long it should take to get it, and about what you're going to spend for dinner. I'm sure someone, somewhere, whose smarter than me said it sometime before, but I'd say unrealized expecations are the biggest cause of unhappiness in life. Even if something's going to be be bad, if you expect it, it ain't so bad. It's that curve ball life throws at you that whacks you upside the head that pisses you off. So that's why I think folks bitch so much more than they praise. Meets expectations is just that. People don't deserve compliments for just doing their job, that's what a paycheck is for. Courtesy yes, but not compliments. So I'd guess it's like a Bell curve, where most service falls in the middle, with only limited experiences that are very very good or very very bad. I'd put the compliment threshold probably somewhere about a 7 or 7.5 on that scale where the complaint threshold is anything less than 5 so you'd automatically get more complaints. Tack on the fact that the whole experience would have to sum to better than average, where it would only take a single instance to trigger a complaint, then that might factor in too. Either all that or maybe the world is just more grumpy than not. What do y'all think?
This here comment brought up a point that there's a lot more complaining than complimenting. I wondered about that, since my little spot here in Blogville has a whole lot of complaining on it. Hell, it's what got me doing this to begin with.
Anyhow, I figured that it's sort of like tipping, just sort of. Should you compliment when a person just does the minimum of what is expected? Meets expectations ain't really a high goal worthy of praise, it's just what someone should be doing anyway. I'd say if on a scale of one to ten you're getting all fives on your performance, be it your job, your business, your representation of your constituents, or whatever you might not really be deserving of anything more than your customers paying their bill, leaving a minimal tip, or having just enough turnout to keep you in office or maybe keep the other guy out. If, however you fail to meet expectations that's when the complaints start. Now, some folks have unrealistic expectations, but most of us just want what's right. Since most of that postin' over there was about restaurants I'll use that as the example here. I'd say most folks just want moderate prices, decent quality, and prompt polite service. That expectation is why chain restaurants tend to fare so well. It's a known quantity, and you have a good idea when you go, what the food is going to taste like, how long it should take to get it, and about what you're going to spend for dinner. I'm sure someone, somewhere, whose smarter than me said it sometime before, but I'd say unrealized expecations are the biggest cause of unhappiness in life. Even if something's going to be be bad, if you expect it, it ain't so bad. It's that curve ball life throws at you that whacks you upside the head that pisses you off. So that's why I think folks bitch so much more than they praise. Meets expectations is just that. People don't deserve compliments for just doing their job, that's what a paycheck is for. Courtesy yes, but not compliments. So I'd guess it's like a Bell curve, where most service falls in the middle, with only limited experiences that are very very good or very very bad. I'd put the compliment threshold probably somewhere about a 7 or 7.5 on that scale where the complaint threshold is anything less than 5 so you'd automatically get more complaints. Tack on the fact that the whole experience would have to sum to better than average, where it would only take a single instance to trigger a complaint, then that might factor in too. Either all that or maybe the world is just more grumpy than not. What do y'all think?
posted by Grumpy at 4/02/2007 10:11:00 AM
2 Comments:
It is always easier to complain than compliment, or at least it seems to come to mind for most people quicker. I think we need to show our appreciation for good service by replying with a friendly smile and thank you at the least. There will always be some customers who grumble no matter what. I say, make someone's day be giving them a kind word when they show a positive attitude.
Well said, Lucky!
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