Customer/Company Responsbility

[jackfaire]

For years a Bucket of Fries was a secret menu item. The buckets were sent to McDonald's restaurants and kept in supply for customers that wanted them. After awhile more and more people were ordering the secret menu item wishing they could do it with drinks they started reaching out to the company and asking for it.

Supersize was born. The Bucket became the normal fry case shape though maintaining it's size and a larger drink was introduced.

Years later the same consumers reached out and asked the company to discontinue it and sales started dropping off at the same time so they did so.

Great the system works. Except most of the consumers that succeeded in getting what they wanted both times are still convinced the company never listens to them and will never give them what they want.

Now if you hear someone criticize a company for not doing things how many people want them to you are supposed to agree that the company which won't make money if it kills off it's fan base is really evil and just doesn't care about making money while somehow still making money? Yeah it doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

I am not talking companies that make things you have to have I am talking purely luxury items where you can absolutely vote with your dollar and force the company to change. But only if they know what you want to change.

Someone told me recently that companies should just merely look at the social media and critiques and use that to make their decision. Ignoring two things with this stance.

1) If there are two equally loud groups and both want opposing or different things that can only be afforded one at a time how is the company to decide which is the profitable one.

2) If all of the very loud voices are saying "we don't like (X)" but sales show that a group larger than that group bought the thing that will be seen as "well most people like it so keep it"

I say that yes the company should pay attention to what is selling, what isn't and try to account for that.

But it can't be a one way street. If a person is completely unwilling to tell the company, "Here's proof I buy your product and here's my problem with it." then they essentially become a petulant child who will tell you they don't want the peas but not tell you it' just because the peas and carrots are touching.

The other part of this that bothers me is the Convenient Amnesia of "Well where di you get the idea we wanted that"

"Uhm from you three years ago you kept bitching you wanted (x) so we worked to improve (X) now that we have instead of saying "great now can you do (Y)" You're getting all pissed and crying "Why do you keep giving me X we don't want X give us Y you idiots"

That bothers me it's like at least acknowledge that you wanted it instead of blaming them for "forcing" something on you and being all mad.


So thoughts should the company be the only ones responsible for figuring out what a customer wants or should both sides communicate?

[AmbrosiaWriter]

The problem I find is that people cry for {X}. they get {X} so they shut up and are happy, and it's a different group of the fan base crying for {Y}.

There is an example in WoW that I can bring up.

For years people were crying for server transfers. A huge section of the player base were like "We will gladly pay for it too!" Blizzard didn't want to do it, but after such a long time they finally went, "Fine we don't want to do this. We will, but it's going to be a premium service and the cost is going to be $25 for each server transfer!"

All those people in the original complaint group were happy, shut up, and got on with their lives.

Now, years later, we have a new loud (but much smaller) group of people crying, "Why is it so expensive!" (The price is still $25, it hasn't gone up in all the years since it has been introduced.) They weren't here during the original "war" to get the option in the first place, so they have no idea what it took to actually have the feature at all.

Honestly, I do this it is a two way street. However, I honestly think that people who voice their opinions on what they want need to stick the hell around and thank the company for doing it. The company should also be appreciative to their fan base for loving their product enough to want to try to help and make it better.

[mjr]

This also reminds me somewhat of something I'd see when I used to watch Food Network more. Whenever they'd have "Food Network Star", people would always comment on the website that they "don't want (X), we want a healthy food show!"

The problem is, nobody really wants a healthy food show. Of course, the people who want the show want it, but it draws very low ratings and only lasts a couple of seasons.

A lot of people also said that they don't like the "talk about food" shows, or the "celebrity" shows. That they actually want cooking shows, where the host actually, you know, cooks. Food Network is more of a "reality" channel now, especially with things like "Cupcake Wars", "Donut Showdown" and such. I only know this because sometimes I'll check food network to see if there's a repeat of Good Eats I haven't seen yet. And occasionally one of those shows has a certain "train wreck" appeal to me.

I don't really care for the, as I call them, "go around and shove food in your pie hole" shows, like Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.

But I think it's a similar phenomenon.

Remember, too, the decision is ultimately driven by "economics". Supply vs Demand. The people (in general) demand the extra huge drink and fries, so McDonald's sees an opportunity, and takes advantage of it. If everyone started ordering the small fries and small drink, one of two things could happen:

1. The small would get bigger (I've seen this happen, too).
2. extra huge would become unavailable.

[jackfaire]

*nods* MTV answered back after years of "why don't you play music videos anymore" with "Simple because you weren't watching them" Now there are enough people my age that really want to watch them again that they started MTV Classic where we can watch old MTV content.

But those people spoke up. The issue that started this thread was that the person I had been speaking with basically acted like companies should exercise psychic powers or rather than use things like ratings or sales figures should listen to the loudest people on the internet.

The problem with that is that the loudest people on the internet aren't always the majority.

If the majority is loving the way things are they don't tend to talk about it. If the minority hates the status quo and wants to change a thing so any company that changed to account for comments online could and likely would suddenly end up alienating the majority of their consumer base.

[mjr]

If the majority is loving the way things are they don't tend to talk about it. If the minority hates the status quo and wants to change a thing so any company that changed to account for comments online could and likely would suddenly end up alienating the majority of their consumer base.

Another issue is something I learned years ago.

If a customer has a "good" experience, they will tell four people.

If a customer has a "bad" experience, they will tell ten people.

Of course, with the advent of "online review sites", that data is probably different, but I think the general sentiment is the same. In general, people tell fewer people when they have a good experience than when they don't.

[AmbrosiaWriter]

In terms of Food Network, they still have the cooking shows were people actually cook. They just aren't on during Prime Time. When I had a different work schedule (some weekdays off) all the shows on during the normal day were the normal cooking shows, and then when it hit 5 or 6 or so the programming shifted over to the other stuff. (Granted, I like the other stuff. I like watching people cook, or bake, and give me ideas. I love Diners, Drive In, and Dives because it is bringing huge spot lights onto Mom N' Pop joints and I've gone to a few of them because of the show.)

But yeah, the "teach you a neat dish" shows are now only on during the day, since I guess that's when most of the people who would watch them (stay at homers?) are able to watch TV.

[TheHuckster]

Yeah, weekend mornings seem to have the cooking shows, too.

And they have a big following, too. Giada, Ina Garten, and that farmhouse show (forgot what it was called) are pretty popular. They've seem to have overtaken Rachel Ray and Emeril of prior years.