How do we handle member complaints in our online community?

Image by: Matt Erasmus

As often happens on some Facebook pages, once in awhile your members will exploit your online community to air their grievances about your organization. For some members, it’s just too tempting to broadcast their displeasure to every other user in the community, in hopes that they can rally an army of likeminded users to force you to change something.

Sometimes, members post legitimate complaints, and you need to have an appropriate response, up to and including actually changing whatever they’re complaining about. More often, however, these incidents turn out to be much ado about nothing: just someone with a vendetta or an axe to grind looking for attention.

So how do you deal with them?

I recently did an assessment of the Virginia Society of CPAs’ online community and found this excellent example of how to deal with a member complaint. The member complained that a service endorsed by VSCPA competes with the services offered by some of the organization’s members.

The manager in charge of this endorsement relationship replied to the thread:

Thanks so much for your feedback! I can assure you that our intention is never to take business away from our members. We’re your association, and we’re here to support you! I’ll give you a call later this morning to discuss your concerns and any other feedback you may have.

Why this post is awesome:

1. This response is posted by the manager in charge of the program that the member is complaining about, not the community manager. The person who responded has authority over the program and is the most knowledgeable about the situation.
2. The member is thanked for providing feedback.
3. The member’s concern is addressed directly.
4. A phone call to the member is promised, demonstrating to the entire online community that VSCPA is listening and responsive.
5. The staff followed through on the promise to call.

What are your techniques for dealing with complaints in your online community?