Singaporeans like to complain, right?

We complain about everything! Why is it flooding in Orchard Road? Why are MRT fares expensive? Why watching World Cup on cable is so expensive? Why is the weather so hot/cold? Okay lah, let’s say we call these: ‘feedback‘.

Now look at the photo on the right. This is the message from  the video display screens around Gatwick Airport in London:

Feedback is Good

But really, there is value in all of  these ‘feedback’. For businesses who are ‘listening in to these feedback’, it is a way to find out what is wrong with their products or services. For customers, complaining is a ‘healthy way’ to voice your unhappiness. If we don’t say it, we can only suffer in silence and businesses will never improve or give us what we pay good money for.

The SingPost Experience

Here is my personal story on why complaining is good. When SingPost lost my wife’s US$400 parcel (they cannot explain why, gave us totally crap customer service and didn’t want to admit to losing the parcel) I decided to blog about it .  I shared the story on Facebook and Twitter and we received so much support from friends and strangers that eventually SingPost had to come to our home, apologised and refunded the whole amount. Moral of the story? Never keep quiet as a customer.

(Honestly, I really salute SingPost for having the courage to talk to us directly and doing what we feel is within our rights as a paying customer.)

Complaints Are Inevitable,  Take Them Positively

In any industry, complaints are inevitable. Just as you and I like to complain, customers and clients are in the habit of doing it too (we are in Singapore after all!). But let’s take a moment and look at complaints differently, and positively, in these ways.

So that’s it:

Complaints are good, complaining is positive.
And certainly good for business.

Sometime in 2006, I started to frequent a Malay barber guy in Race Course Road, close to where I used to live on Petain Road. Operating out of a shop underneath a HDB block, the joint has probably seen better days; it is now sparse and functional. Three of them (all in their 50s) worked out of the same premises and it took me a while to get comfortable with one particular guy. Other than being cheap (SG$8 per trim), a haircut at the barber gets the job done quickly and efficiently, none of the fussiness of the salon and its army of stylists.

My Malay barber’s a quiet man. Apart from pleasantries, Vespa stories and the weather, we hardly got personal. But all the same, my sessions with this guy had been very pleasant. We had a well-established, mutually-beneficial relationship. His colleagues knew that and respected this relationship well to never court me to sit in their chairs, even if the place was swarmed. I was this guy’s regular and loyal customer.

Loyalty is Painful Sometimes

I have loyally continued to patronise this place all these years, even after moving back to my folks in Pasir Ris (briefly before marriage) and now in our matrimonial home (Toa Payoh).

Yesterday, I made a Sunday morning trip to the barber shop for a haircut. I was looking forward to the occasion because a while ago (the Saturday before my convocation on May 22, to be exact), I had gone there wanting a trim. Unfortunately, he did not turned up as per usual and did not answer any calls to his mobile. I waited an hour for him to arrive (I really didn’t mind waiting at all) before reluctantly letting my hair to be trimmed by one of his colleagues. Yesterday, I had wanted to ‘playfully chide’ him for making me wait.

On arrival, I saw his spot remained empty and enquired if he’s late again. The news that greeted me at the door left me stumped and speechless.

My Malay barber guy had passed away on 6 June 2010.

A long-term loyal relationship has ended for good. And there was no opportunity to say goodbye or to express my deep gratitude for all these years.

What Made Our Relationship Great?

Nonetheless, I still needed a haircut yesterday and I received one from the same guy that stood in the last time. In all honesty, I wasn’t terribly thrilled with my haircuts, not that I wanted something fancy (my idea of a haircut is merely getting my hair trimmed to a length that will allow me to style it any way I want later on).

Unfortunately, I did not receive a memorable experience with this guy. It was just not the same.

So what really made the difference? You might say a haircut is a haircut.

Well, the difference is my late Malay barber guy listened. And again and again and again.

From the first time and every time since then, he would ask once before each session what I wanted (despite knowing very well what I wanted), listened to my request and proceeded. If I thought my hair needed a little more trimming (just like my dad’s, my hair burst into life and starts growing wildly the moment I step off the barber’s chair), I would make regular requests (in a single session) to have the sides trimmed to the length I wanted. He would listen, never let out a sigh or complain and gave it to me every time.

I also have a (call it peculiar) belief that buzz machine-cut hair do not grow out well and had insisted on a traditional scissors-cut the very first time I patronised his services. All these years, he remembered that very first request and never gave me a full haircut with a machine (only touch-ups).

The new guy left me disappointed. Crucially, he did not ask what I wanted or listened close enough to what I had to say.

All Great Marketers Listen to Their Customers

First rule of marketing: Give what the customers want. And that is only achievable by listening to what they really want.

That, in essence, is what my late Malay barber did. He asked what I wanted and continued to listen every time. He was a marketing guy in the most simple and effective way. He did not put forth fancy hairstyle ideas or suggest a new hair colour. He did not lavish me with in-store perks or loyalty points. He never called me by my name.

But he listened and listened. And gave me what I really wanted.

Truly a hallmark of any great marketer.

Farewell

I regretted knowing and calling my late Malay barber only as ‘Pakcik’ (Malay for uncle) (I’d love to give you a name here). I probably knew his name at some point but we had gotten on so comfortably, we never did have a need for names. Nonetheless, he’ll be greatly missed.

May God give strength to his family and friends and bless my Malay barber’s soul in the ever-after.

The simple guy who listened and listened and listened.

Post Updated: 5 May, see end of post

Are we really a First World country with a world-class service industry serving the economy? Certainly not if our still unresolved issue with Singapore Post (SingPost) is a yardstick for measurement. A simple request for Singapore Post to re-deliver my wife’s parcel (containing online purchases of clothes from Forever 21) has dragged on for almost 3 weeks with no end in sight. Much worse is the customer service treatment we have been receiving at the hands of this monopolistic (we don’t really have a choice, do we?) Singaporean postal service. Truth is: no one at SingPost seems to care!

‘Parcel is Lost in Our Service’ says Singapore Post

The parcel, with a total purchase value of US$385.16, had been declared ‘lost’ by Singapore Post. And this happened while it was in its care! Unbelievable? Unfortunately, this is true, SingPost officially states so in this email and this one too. And for the record, there WAS an attempted parcel delivery to our door step on 30 December 2009 (more on this later). But it seems as though the parcel simply….vanished!

Obviously, we were deeply concerned and wanted this resolved as quickly as possible. As the lost item was a combined purchase between Elisa (my wife) and her friends and acquaintances, it is only right on Elisa’s part, as purchase coordinator, to rectify this quickly. If the parcel is really lost as claimed, then compensation must be made, especially when SingPost has clearly acknowledged losing it. Simple enough? Turns out, not quite.

Ignored by Singpost?

It is painfully obvious from our interactions that Singapore Post does not see any urgency in this matter nor does it feel totally responsible for this blunder. Despite countless calls and information request via emails, no single person at Singapore Post took the initiative or claimed any service responsibility over our case. Read on to find out how SingPost tries to ‘tai chi’ this problem away. (Note: ‘To tai chi’ is Singlish for shifting work or blame to someone else)

Since January 11, Elisa had been making periodic calls to Singapore Post’s customer service hotline to enquire about this parcel. The same mantras were repeated countless times: ‘We are looking into it’, ‘Our operation team is still investigating’, ‘The parcel is still missing’, etc. And she kept being told ‘We will give you a call’, but never heard back from anyone. Not a single call-back came from SingPost in the course of 2 weeks. Unbelievable but true.

This perceived ‘lack of interest’ by SingPost is also evident in email communication. A certain ‘Jxcqueline Lim – Senior Manager’ offered to keep a close watch on this case when Elisa spoke to her on January 22. Unfortunately, that did not happen. See the chain of emails that is still unresponded (and possibly ignored by Miss Lim) since January 22.

All Talk, No Action

From January 11 till the 22nd, this case was ‘ping-ponging’ between Singapore Post’s Customer Service team, their Investigation team and quite possibly their Claims Department. It seems like no one wanted to make any decision. If it takes 2 weeks to locate a single physical parcel, then there must be something seriously wrong operationally at SingPost.

Only on January 22, when we demanded immediate concrete action to be taken, was a police report given to us the very same evening (more about discrepancies of this police report later). We deduced it to be SingPost’s way of saying: ‘Yes, we lost your parcel but can you wait in case it turns up so that we don’t have to claim insurance and save some bucks?’

This whole episode, coming hot on the heels of the controversial Singapore Post’s "Acts of Vandalism" publicity stunt that backfired, does make us wonder the quality of decision-making business managers currently helming the company. SingPost is not exactly doing itself any favour here. And to think I had voluntarily proposed a revolutionary business idea to SingPost previously.

Next, I’ll detail a factual rundown of events that led to this blog post.

What Actually Happened

20 December: Elisa and myself left Singapore for a 3-week holiday in the Middle East.

29 December: Parcel arrived in Singapore on 29 December at 3.10pm. View the online tracking report by United States Postal Service for item CJ242179875US (Elisa’s parcel).

30 December: Delivery was attempted on 30 December by owner of mobile no. +6581461087 to our flat in Toa Payoh Central. The following are text messages (signed off as ‘S’pore post’) sent to Elisa on the same day regarding this attempted delivery:

Another text message was also sent on January 2:

31 December: My mom called on my mobile and mentioned that our neighbour, an elderly lady, had contacted her to inform of a postal delivery man at our door the previous day. Our kind neighbour had spoken to the delivery man and that she was ready to ‘make payment’ on our behalf (we found out later that Goods and Services Tax (GST) was due on Elisa’s parcel). However, our neighbour mentioned that the man was nowhere to be found when she returned to the door later with her money bag.

8-9 January: Elisa sent several text messages to +6581461087, but did not receive any reply.

11 January: Elisa made the first call to Singapore Post’s Customer Service to enquire on re-delivering the parcel. She was told that parcel cannot be located and SingPost advised that it will need at least 2 working days to look for the parcel. SingPost assured her that a return call will be made within the next few days.

Text messages and phone calls made to +6581461087 were still not answered. Gave up on that channel of communication.

13 January: No news from Singapore Post. When contacted, SingPost informed that ‘the Operations team is still trying to locate the parcel’. SingPost also mentioned that if the parcel is not found by January 18, a police report will be made in order to initiate claims. We decided to wait it out and requested to SingPost to provide a prompt update by January 18.

18 January: Again zero communication received from Singapore Post. Elisa made a call and told the same thing: ‘the Operations team is still trying to locate the parcel’.

So no police report had been made. When asked when exactly the police report will be filed, the Customer Service Officer  quipped that she had just updated the system for the ‘Operations team’ to file the police report. Ping! Pong! Among other things:

• Was also told that the police report would take THREE working days to complete
• After which the report will go to the Claims Department to look into the matter and handle the proceeding steps Ping! Pong!
• Will be updated via a phone call regarding the police report and claims

I guess Elisa and friends have to wait. Again.

The Singapore Post’s Police Report Mystery!

22 January: Still no update on a late Friday afternoon so we decided to give Singapore Post a call.

No police report had been made! The atrocity!

The SingPost Customer Service officer on the line said ‘Don’t worry, we’ll take care of it and will call you back on Monday’. ‘NO WAY!’ we protested. Eventually, by sheer verbal force, Elisa and yours truly managed to speak to Jxcquxlinx Lim (Senior Manager, Customer Service) and she agreed to file the report so that a compensation claim can be initiated as soon as possible.

Do see the chain of emails here on this. Notice an attempt to delay official action again, despite an earlier verbal agreement with Jxcquxlinx Lim. Elisa highlighted this in her last email reply.

A police report was eventually lodged by SingPost on the same evening and we duly received a copy of this report. Please do view the full copy of this police report.

Now, let’s play detective! Notice the following discrepancies in the police report:

1. Police report was made in the personal name of ‘Ayub Bin Hamzah’. Is this normal practice? I assume this is a safeguard so that Singapore Post, as a business entity, is likely to be absolved from any connection or responsibility in case a criminal offence had been committed.
2. No signature or name and details of police officer-in-charge visible in the report. The informant ‘Ayub Bin Hamzah’ did not sign as well. Extremely odd! I wonder what is the real story here. Anyone familiar with police reports?
3. Look again at the following text message sent by owner of mobile no. +6581461087 on the afternoon of 30 Dec when the parcel was still in his/her possession:

Notice the time and date message was sent and received:

30 December, 2.59pm

Now look at the ‘Time of Incident’ for loss of parcel as stated by Singpost in the police report.

30 December, 11.47am-11.59pm

So Many Questions!

• The parcel was reported/discovered ‘lost’ between those hours when it is obvious that, evidenced through the text messages sent to Elisa, the owner of mobile no. +6581461087 still had the parcel in his possession. Isn’t this downright fishy? A parcel gone missing while being delivered? Should this not be grounds for a criminal investigation?
• Who is the owner of mobile no. +6581461087 anyway? Singapore Post’s official response to us on this query is “We do not know to whom this mobile number belongs to”. ???
• Singapore Post does not keep track of its own delivery men/women? Inconceivable? Apparently so.
• Could the owner of mobile no. +6581461087 be ‘Ayub Bin Hamzah’?
• If parcel was already ‘lost’ on 30 December, why did Elisa receive another text message from +6581461087 on January 2? What was its purpose? There was no other communication after this message.
• How is it possible that a parcel, in SingPost’s care and ready to be delivered to owner, can go missing and untraceable within the space of a week? Aren’t all parcel shipments individually tagged and tracked?
• There was never a ‘Request for Re-delivery’ note left behind at our door by owner of mobile no. +6581461087 or was there ever an official SingPost call made to Elisa to arrange for re-delivery afterwards. Is this an attempt to cover up something?

25 January: No call from SingPost, specifically from the Claims Department.

26 January: Still no call and no news. So Elisa made a direct call to Jxcquxlinx Lim to ask for status of the claims.

Jxcquxlinx’s reply was: ‘Oh, no staff contacted you yesterday? Someone was supposed to call you. Ok, let me try to get hold of someone from the Claims department and have them speak to you.’

We felt really numb by now. Ping! Pong!

Later on a Fxdilx called, informing Elisa that the claims process will take several days. However, Jxcquxlinx had earlier agreed to resolve the claims process by Monday, January 25. Fxdilx claimed that she was ‘unaware of this’. Com’mon, SingPost, COMMUNICATE!

When asked to speak to Jxcquxlinx, Fxdilx informed that she had left for the day and instead a ‘Miss Umx’ would be calling by 9.30pm that evening. Unfortunately, Elisa missed this call. A return call to ‘Miss Umx’ was, however, unanswered.

The Final Straw: Singapore Post Washes Hands and ‘Tai Chis’ Tasks to USA Post, Forever 21 and Us!

27 January: Elisa picked up the phone and called a ‘Miss Umxmagasvary – Asst Manager, Customer Relations’ (we theorise that the concept of calling back or following up apparently does not exist in SingPost’s operations manual). In the call, the message communicated by Miss Umx simply astounded us!  Elisa asked that this be documented in an email, which was received promptly. The full copy of the email is available for viewing. Reproduced here is an excerpt from Miss Umx’s email:

Dear Ms Elisa

ENQUIRY ON USA PARCEL NUMBER CJ242179875US

Please refer to your conversation with our call center dated 12 Jan 2010.

We are sorry to inform you that despite a through search, we are unable to locate the parcel. As such, the parcel has been declared as lost in our service.

We have reported the lost of the parcel to the USA Post and have requested to liasie with the sender accordingly. We have also informed them to compensate the sender at our expense as in accordance with the UPU Regulations.

As the sender would have the prior right of claim, please advise your sender to file a claim with the USA Post.

Our sincere apologies for the lost of the parcel and the inconvenience experienced

Yours sincerely

Umx (Ms)

Asst Manager, Customer Relations, Customer Service (Business Division)

DID: 65 68456222, Fax: 65 68425114

Case closed?! This is totally unbelievable! MAJOR PING PONG!

This is as good as Singapore Post saying:

‘Sorry, we fxxked up, please help clean the mess after us’.

After 3 weeks of dealing with Singapore Post’s Customer Service and after it admitted to losing Elisa’s parcel, SingPost now wants to close off this matter by making USA Post, Forever21 and us to ‘take care of business’. How much more crazier can this get? There are even more questions now:

• Why is Singapore Post getting USA Post involved in this when it is pretty obvious that SingPost lost Elisa’s parcel in Singapore? The parcel was delivered and arrived safely in Singapore on 29 December at 3.10pm. It went missing under SingPost’s watch, for goodness sake.
• And why is Singapore Post making my wife do their work for them? “Please advise your sender to file a claim with the USA Post”. Not content with making Elisa constantly following up with customer service at SingPost (who lost Elisa’s parcel, by the way, if I haven’t already mentioned that), she is suddenly asked to TAKE CARE OF HER OWN BUSINESS? Nasty.
• “Compensate the sender”: Whatever happened to the person whose money and time has been spent in this? In this email from Miss Umx, there is ZERO mention of claims or compensation to my wife, the paying customer. An oversight? Nah. It is likely that SingPost just does not care. Instead, the email implied as such: ‘Sorry, we tried our best but you are on your own. Now shoo. Leave us in peace.’
• Is this a way for Singapore Post not to claim compensation on its insurance? Or not to fork out any money from its own coffers by making the sender claim from its own insurance, etc.? In the real world, if I were to lose someone else’s property, I should jolly well be made responsible for it.

Answer our questions, Singapore Post!

Elisa and myself have given enough opportunity and time to Singapore Post to ‘play’ nice’ and resolve this matter amicably. Yes, Elisa will probably be fully compensated, albeit in a ‘gazillion years’. But there are still so many questions that need answers, even legal ones.

Thus, we decided to bring this out to a public forum. We decided to let you be a witness and, hopefully, a commentator to this issue. We are always lamenting about our Singaporean service industry and this is probably just one of many cases you’ve heard. Now here’s a platform for your thoughts so that we can all learn from this unfortunate episode.

But above all, we would like Singapore Post to respond publicly to our many unanswered questions and the mysteries surrounding the vanished parcel, police report, compensation etc. Keeping it quiet and under wraps have not worked at all in our favour. We have stopped believing in your ‘stories’ over the phone and now we desire some real deal honesty.

On to you, Singapore Post.

5 May Update:

We thank you, visitors here who have found our story, for reading and sharing your thoughts on the SingPost issue and also for giving us your encouragement and support. We are happy to update that we had received compensation directly from SingPost for the full value of the lost package.

There are still questions that remains unanswered, including what really happened with the lost package and the conclusion of the police investigation on the matter. However, we commend SingPost for taking up our issue directly, visiting us to discuss in detail, leaving comments on this blog and keeping the conversation open. Please read Peggy Chong’s reply to us on this matter.

We hope in some ways we have helped institutions like SingPost and other exasperated consumers find a way to communicate better in resolving similar issues. Technologies and communication platforms that allow a much closer interaction between businesses and consumers have evolved greatly with the Web2.0 revolution. We hope opportunities like these will be fully utilised on both sides of the commercial divide.

Thanks again for visiting and do leave your thoughts and opinions for the benefits of others. I also invite you to read the rest of the blog if you have the time. Cheers!

Recently I was asked this question ‘Tell me why Wisma Atria should have a Twitter account’. Wisma Atria is a major mall on Orchard Road, Singapore that has pretty much reinvented itself with a facade change and cool-factor repositioning. A quick check shows that Wisma Atria is already on Twitter although I can’t be sure if that is indeed Wisma’s or a Twitter-squatter. Looks derelict to me (with 4 dubious followers) and 0 tweets.

There are many things that a business can achieve on Twitter and on social media in general, including close interaction with customers, shouting out ads, news and discounts, content distribution and much more. Brand reputation management is also a real possibility if Twitter is set up to alert.

Disclaimer: This post is written as a case study in exploring the possibilities and opportunities that may present themselves for businesses about to engage in social media. No affiliation to Wisma Atria and certainly no malice intended whatsoever although I am certainly open to further discourse and idea-sharing.

So let us focus this discussion on the overall reason why Wisma Atria MUST be on Twitter and how it will help its business and, most importantly, its customers.

Connecting.

Without a doubt, connecting with customers and listening to what they have to say about a brand is becoming an increasingly important concept. Gone are the days when product is THE focal point of a business. Not anymore, says The Customer. The internet in large parts has shift influence over to the consumer. The power to communicate and to retaliate is now in the tweeting fingers of consumers.

Just so we are clear, Twitter and social media are not strategies but only be a component social media tool within your organisation’s total marketing strategy (offline & online).

Despite the consumers’ firm grasp on social media, the possibilities are still endless for businesses to use the same set of social media tools to engage and reach out. There are many advantages to gain, especially market insights and intelligence.

So without further ado, I present..

‘If Wisma Atria is on Twitter…’

Direct Communication

If Wisma Atria is on Twitter, it can communicate directly to its customer at any time, like @rochorbeancurd does. What better way to reach out to customers other than being open, timely and with the injection of a little humanity in a brand’s persona. Especially when CSR (corporate social responsibility) is such the rage these days.

Real-Time Customer Service

If Wisma Atria is easily reached by Twitter, it can resolve customer issues quickly. ‘Just tell Wisma Atria anything on Twitter’ should be a real and implemented concept. Perhaps your customers would like to tweet to you information on that leaky washroom sink, to ask for store directions or to complain about a misleading ad.

Ask this, which one is faster for a savvy and connected customer:

1. Trying to find a customer service counter, 2. Googling for Wisma’s customer service number or 3. A direct tweet to, perhaps, @wismaonline (still available! quick!)

Make it easy and the customer will appreciate it. (Sidenote: Wisma’s online feedback tool is so buried on its website, it is like a treasure hunt!)

These days customers want to know that brands are listening to them. Like @starhubcares.

Identifying Customers and Targeting

If Wisma Atria is on Twitter, it will know that it has a prominent Indonesian clientele/customers who are active on Twitter and can be easily reached for highly-targeted sales or communication campaigns. Wisma can also find out which store is “hot!” in their mall and hype it up. When Twitter’s geo-location feature rolls out fully, it will be really fun to find out which store is really hot in real time as more shoppers are tweeting through mobile internet and sms. There are real business opportunities in that. Point being, the ability to target efficiently and precisely is a huge asset.

Celebrity Spotting

If Wisma was listening on Twitter, it would have known that 2 Indonesian celebrities were hanging out there. Could have easily
been Paris Hilton or Takeshi Kaneshiro. Real good PR opportunity. (but no celebrity stalking, please)

Sales Campaigns and Programs

If Wisma Atria is on Twitter, it can do what @DiscountHunt is doing so well with its info relay service.

And guess what? Wisma’s fans will be happy to tell all their friends all about it.

A More Effective Social Media Approach

If Wisma is on Facebook and NOT on Twitter, it is blasphemy. Your Facebook Fans would like to reach out to you at some point and Twitter is one way to grab your attention. @sakaesushi uses both Facebook and Twitter to great effect.

Facebook and Twitter complement each other:

1. Your campaigns get out in real-time and faster via Twitter to reach YOUR audience (Twitter followers).

2. As long as you have an interesting proposition, you will always have them back to your Facebook Fan Page in no time. And less risk of a Facebook ‘white-elephant’, if you know what I mean.

Competitive Intelligence

If Wisma Atria is on Twitter, it can learn of its competitors and always be one step ahead :)

And much much more…

The possibilities are endless ‘if Wisma Atria is on Twitter…’ and it could be for your business too! All business are people business.

Please share in the comments if you have any interesting ideas on Twitter use for Wisma Atria or for any retail business. Would love to hear what you think.

Find me on Twitter @groovygenie or connect with me on Facebook.

Facebook is a great place for small businesses and startups to stay in touch with their customers online. In fact, there are many other social media tools that can help SMEs get around the big revolution that is the social Web 2.0. Fika Cafe is a new food place, serving Swedish food in a quaint district of Singapore. Fika’s on Facebook too and the subject of my case study.

The Attraction of Swedish Meatballs

In all honesty, I had earlier started on a post about how Fika Cafe excites me with its niche business idea: halal Swedish cuisine in Singapore, a rarity indeed. Couple that with a major culinary disappointment for Muslim food lovers/hunters over the years: Ikea’s Swedish meatballs (they contain pork which is forbidden in a Muslim’s diet). Because those who had them, have been talking about them for years! It is a gilded gap in the market and Fika is on to it. Fantastic so far.

Then something happened. My close friend (whom I had introduced to Fika via Facebook) had a confirmed reservation (made in person!) double-booked, 20 mins before breaking of fast (its the Muslim month of Ramadan). She was turned away with mere apologies. What really didn’t sit in well was the fact that the staff who attended to her did nothing more than merely saying “really sorry”. There was no attempt to find a solution, or have them on priority once a table clears or to simply ask for contact info to make up for what happened. So when I stumbled on a fitting post by Fika in my FB stream, I left a note about this matter. I kept in mind to be as objective as possible, as I care that a new business will need all the help it can get to tread the 2.0 waters. Click on image below for an enlarged view of my comments, captured earlier.

Fika did reply to my initial comment and so did others. Some in support of Fika and others who agreed with me. Fair enough, but I was really happy that Fika responded and engaged. It showed that they are savvy with this.

So, this was a new story that I wanted to blog about, so I began drafting a new post to say how well Fika Cafe has done in connecting and engaging its customers/fans online via their Facebook Fan Page. I was impressed with this, the direct replies to their FB fans, the genuine concern and their public promise ‘to make it up to me’. (However, at time of this post, I have not heard from them. I am still interested in a friendly chat.)

The Horror!

While trying to get screen captures for this post, I discovered something which made my heart skipped a beat. My comments on Fika’s Facebook page were deleted! There were at least 6 other comments in that deleted post. Another fan’s post, an ‘Erin Syahnaz Bangi’, which touched on her disappointment of a recent visit, was deleted too, along with 2-3 other posts from Fika’s fans, in response to me, who commented on the excellent service and experience they had received.

(Click to enlarge view)

The realisation that I, along with others, was censored in free speech didn’t feel good. Not at all.

Nonetheless, I do agree that Fika is free to do as they wish on their online properties.

Voices in the Social Economy

We are all aware that the online identity is an extension of your offline self. Same goes for a business. More important than online commerce, it is a PR tool. Hence, all conduct is scrutinised, a recent case in point being Microsoft’s Photoshop fiasco. Therefore, I can only conclude that it is important for businesses to remain open and transparent with customers or stakeholders, especially when engaged in social media. Any discernible actions deemed negative will be amplified and passed on to the next listener.

Is it any good to be all too transparent? In the age of corporate social responsibility (CSR), this is all the more important.

Again, let me use Zappos as an example. Try visiting twitter.zappos.com. Any mention of “Zappos” by anyone in Twitter-verse gets streamed on this page. Good or bad, its all exposed and open. They have an Employee Tweet page too. With 474 tweeting employees to date, you can certainly have a feel of what goes on in Zappos HQ.

What Went Wrong

In Fika’s case above, censoring comments is akin to saying “thanks for chatting, noted, but let’s keep these away”. If there is an open Facebook Fan Page to comment on, then these comments should stick. Be open, but consistency is important too. Also, what are the justifications for deleting these comments? I personally believe comments are delete-able only if foul language, personal insults or insensitivity to religions are involved. Otherwise, its fair game. And if there’s a real need to delete, then send a note to explain the action and why it is necessary. Be accountable for action, a CSR mandate.

Perhaps the comments struck a nerve with someone at Fika. But the only way to respond to bad criticisms is to respond positively (remember word-of-mouth is powerful.)

This is the problem, in reality, Fika did really well in responding and very positively at that. The Fika comments would have been a good positive indication of whom the people behind the brand are. To me, they seem genuine and honest. But regrettably the comments have all but disappeared. I can’t show them to you and I can’t speak more good things about them. Its an opportunity lost for free and good publicity.

Here’s a quote from Seth Godin’s ‘Spare No Expense’: ‘The way around it, I think, is to set expectations early and often. If you’re going to give me your phone number, you better answer it. If you’re going to offer a warranty, you better honor it. If you position yourself as a company with real people eager to make every single person happy–you better deliver.’

PS. Still looking forward to some halal Swedish meatballs.