– my week, again.
I’ll be keeping this short, as I don’t want to ruin what is understandably palpable excitement at my presentation on wednesday. Will there be another Oregon Trail reference? A picture of the Terminator? Tune in next week.
Anyway, Reputation Management actually shares some commonality with my previous presentation on CRM. According to the reading, or more specifically the reading from AdWeek, this upcoming generation is 3 times more likely to complain about a company online. This is a huge shift in the paradigm, as the complaints are now easier to make, more public, and potentially viral. That said, only roughly half of the companies surveyed are ready or capable to reply in a meaningful way to this kind of complaint, which can lead to huge problems as far as their….are you ready for this?…reputation goes.
I’ll be covering more of the readings in greater detail during my presentation, but some questions to prime you are these:
1. Do you have a google alert set up for yourself? Have you ever googled yourself and found something negative?
2. Have you complained of a company online? Why? Where?
christopherglaw 
I’m going to tackle your second question, because I fear the first. I have Googled myself and not found anything negative so far, but I prefer the Ignorance-Is-Bliss method for confronting possible attacks. I do acknowledge that as I get more into this program and start shifting my career path, this method will not serve me well.
I haven’t complained about a company online, but did use others’ complaints to shape the image of the company. I purchased a Shark Steam Mop a year ago and was seriously in love with it. I influenced several people to buy it and they were in love, as well. A year later the thing broke. I got online to look for parts, suggestions, repairs, and whatever other information I could find to bring it back to life. In my searches, I found that most – if not all – of the Shark Steam Mops break after a year (a faulty hose). I read other people’s description of their attempts to get the company to fix the issue to no avail. I looked at reviews of the Shark product and similar products and really lost my faith in the company in general, not just this product. I found another brand that seems to have better managed its reputation.
See, thats my issue. The reviews of a company always end up affecting my judgement.
Awesome job presenting on this Chris! I have Google Alerts on myself but I’ve never gotten anything negative. Apparently I am a rich plastic surgeon in California! I have definitely complained about a company before but in a professional manner. None of this “What a B!” stuff. I made a comment to Sephora via Facebook a long time ago about their customer service and how I felt very neglected throughout my time in their local store. They responded a couple weeks after and apologized.
I race yachts off two coasts, am a dentist, and a porn star. No idea if any of that overlaps, but if it does, I hope there’s handwashing. I like that the internet gives us the opportunity to interact with companies…hopefully faster than that though.
The second result on a google search of “Emily Davis Gainesville” is a story about a 12 year old girl. Awesome. So no, fortunately with a name like mine (and yours as I’ve discovered) I don’t get much return. Although in all seriousness, the number one result on my name is actually about me, and it is a page I no longer have access to on GAINnet. This class has convinced me to reach out to the company to see how I can regain access to it.
Controlling what’s said online about you ends up being an important move. I think I probably have a xanga account and myspace page I need to actually go through the motions and shut down…if i can remember my password.
Hi Chris–great presentation this week. Yes, I Google myself every now and then to see what employers may find. Also, I do a lot of writing so I wonder what articles are posted with my byline. Of course that is stuff that wouldn’t negatively impact me if I were a job applicant. What worries me are the photos that come up. I don’t have too many right now…they seem to come and go.
As far as complaining about companies, I do so a lot but not publicly on Twitter as we discussed during Andrew’s lecture. My mom taught me that you should always voice concerns when dissatisfied–whether at a restaurant or grocery store. While customers are always first in the U.S., they are most definitely last in the Middle East. Once I was at a Beirut restaurant and the waiter forgot fries with my order. I told the waiter this and he said “Oh, OK.” and never came back with my order of fries and the bill had listed it. In the U.S. complaints are taken seriously! Something I miss among many things there.