Photo (CC 2.0) by Kenjl Ross, on Flickr

Practically all of the guest blogs I write for Small Business Survival focus on tips to enhance the management or operational aspects of your business. This post, however, goes down a new road.

I would love your thoughts on what you consider acceptable ratings, both as a consumer and as a business owner, when viewing customer evaluations.

Here is the story. Over the weekend (and again this morning as I write this), I had a routine oil change. Everything went fine, work was done in a timely manner, and there were no issues or questions.

A couple of days later I receive an email from the service supervisor. It said I would soon be getting a questionnaire on how I rated the performance.  Still okay at this point.

However, the email went on to say that excellent ratings were expected in all categories. If I couldn’t give them, the company felt they hadn’t provided the best service possible and that problems may still be present. If I couldn’t do this, then let them know what the issues were. This is where I stop to wonder about reasonable expectations (This certainly isn’t the first time this has happened).

I have three issues with the process.

1. I don’t want to be told what my expected rating should be. Isn’t that my decision? Also, how are they using the information? If they are compiling it for a performance metric, then they are getting skewed data and, if they are publishing it, all we are doing is inflating the true rating of the company. By making such a request, I feel justified in not giving an excellent rating.  If you have to push me to say it then something is wrong.
2. I believe to get an excellent rating you must exceeded the expected. In my case, I had an expectation the job would be done right and done quickly. It was just what I expected.  Is that an excellent rating though? Now I am not sure what would be service beyond the expected in an oil change. They did replace my battery in my remote for no charge.  Is that exceptional? Other than that their performance was the like most of my other oil changes. So maybe it is very good, because of the battery change, instead of just average.
3. This issue comes from myself as a consumer. I depend on ratings to help me make decisions. If they are using these in their marketing, I am getting an artificial rating which will not help in the long run. Personally, I don’t shy away from companies with a less than perfect ratings. That is why I read the comments. I understand though how this may drop a company from being #1 to something lower which may have some impact (especially if it moves you from page 1 since many people don’t move to the next page).

Yet I also don’t want to hurt the service personnel in their own evaluations. Routinely, these individuals have told me anything less than an excellent is reflected on their evaluation. I don’t know if it is true but why should thoughts such as mine impact them?  I had a pleasant person to work with who got my job done as expected. That’s the kind of worker I would want to have around.

Am I being stubborn or just missing the point about my customer satisfaction rating standards?  I feel a “good” is fine. As a customer I am satisfied and walked away with expectations met. An “above average” shows some extra effort was put in (which is my situation as they also dealt with my dead battery in my remote for no charge). An excellent is possible but it certainly isn’t the routine. Maybe it is an issue with the categories – met expectations, did not meet expectations, exceeded expectations might this give a business owner better data.

I would love to hear your thoughts. You can post them in the comment section or email me at: glenn.muske@ndsu.edu.

Please let me know if you are a business owner. Also, give some indications as to how you view a less than excellent rating from a customer.

I look forward to the comments and discussion. I will share what I hear.

Photo (CC) by Terry Johnston, on Flickr

Small-business owners always are looking for opportunities to build their business.

Some of the ways owners do this are through providing what customers want, working hard, and offering the right selection at the right price and trying to attract the right market.

These are all needed elements of a successful business. Yet there is an additional underlying core element that will help you build your business. That element is trust.

Trust or reputation cannot be quantified nor can it be bought. Trust is built by actions, words and deeds.

Business owners need to determine the values or principles that are the underlying support piers for their business. You may have seen a business post its values or print them on statements or elsewhere. It is not uncommon for them to be part of the “About You” section of their web page.

Remember though, trust is not in what you say but what you do.

So what does the business owner need to think about when building trust?

Obviously, you need to focus on your product or service. Does it do what you promise? Is it reliable?

But that is only part of the trust relationship. Trust probably comes more to the forefront when people talk about how you do business.

Customer service is another area where you need to build trust.

Building trust goes beyond your specific business. It involves being respected in your industry. And it certainly means being respected in your community. Are you a good neighbor?

You want to build trust with, obviously, your customers. But don’t stop there. You must also build it with suppliers, other business owners, financial backers, and the community. You even need to build trust between you as the business owner and family members. Family members are an important part of that small business.”

Here are some specific ways to build trust:

• Do what you promise
• Meet, or beat, the promises and the deadlines you set
• Acknowledge a mistake and correct it
• Be authentic
• Be transparent in your actions.
• Be visible and active in your business and in your community

Trust is a big deal in our personal relationships and in our workplace relationships with co-workers and customers. Developing trust and maintaining that trust is key to successful workplace environments, building a strong customer base and the overall prosperity of a business.

Trust builds successful small businesses. Work on building it every day.