Hug Your Haters

Jay Baer argues that businesses of every size are failing at customer service and that the solution lies in responding to every complaint, across every channel, every time. He supports this argument with a proprietary research study conducted with Edison Research, a consumer insights firm, surveying more than 2,000 American consumers who had complained about a company in the prior 12 months. The study's central finding is straightforward: Answering complaints increases customer advocacy in every channel, while not answering decreases it universally. This consistent pattern, Baer contends, makes complaint response a powerful tool for any business.

Baer opens by establishing that a massive perception gap exists between businesses and their customers. He cites a Forrester Research study showing that 80 percent of businesses believe they deliver superior customer service, while only eight percent of customers agree. A 2013 Arizona State University "Customer Rage" study found that complainant satisfaction had not improved since the 1970s, despite billions spent on support infrastructure. Baer argues that mobile technology, social media, and shifting consumer expectations have fundamentally changed customer service, but most businesses have not adapted. His foundational claim is direct: "Haters are not your problem. . . . Ignoring them is" (3).

He identifies four business benefits of embracing complaints. The first is recovering unhappy customers; a five percent increase in customer retention can boost profits by 25 to 85 percent. He profiles immigration attorney Jacob Sapochnick, who offered free services worth 4,500 dollars to a client who left a negative Yelp review. The second is creating customer advocacy; Baer cites 1978 research conducted for the RAND Corporation, which found that customers whose complaints are resolved satisfactorily become more loyal than they were before the problem. The third is gathering intelligence. Since only five percent of unhappy customers ever complain, that vocal minority serves as an invaluable early warning system. Baer cites the bakery-café chain Le Pain Quotidien, which discovered a lemonade recipe error through complaints, and Square Cow Movers, a Texas-based moving company that overhauled its procedures after managing partner Wade Lombard identified recurring misunderstandings in reviews. The fourth is competitive differentiation: In a world where products and prices are increasingly interchangeable, customer experience is the primary remaining differentiator.

Central to the book's framework is the distinction between two types of complainers. "Offstage haters" use private channels such as telephone and e-mail; they tend to be slightly older, less active on social media, and primarily want an answer. "Onstage haters" use public channels such as social media, review sites, and discussion forums; they tend to be younger and more technologically fluent, and they often want an audience as much as a resolution. In 2015, 62 percent of first complaints were still made via telephone or e-mail, but the balance was shifting rapidly toward onstage channels. A 2013 TNS survey in the Netherlands found that only 48 percent of online complainers actually wanted help; 30 percent were venting, and 23 percent sought vengeance. Baer also addresses customers who cannot be satisfied, presenting approaches that range from ignoring them to researching their history. Microsoft Xbox, which holds the Guinness World Record for most responsive brand on Twitter, takes the opposite approach by engaging with every complainer regardless.

Baer presents his research findings in a framework he calls the Hatrix, which maps complaint expectations and advocacy outcomes by channel. Offstage haters almost always expect a response: 91 percent for telephone, 89 percent for e-mail. Onstage haters expect one far less often: 42 percent for social media, 53 percent for review sites, 47 percent for discussion boards. Answering a phone complaint increases advocacy by 10 percent, while not answering decreases it by 51 percent; the upside is modest because a response is already expected. In onstage channels, the dynamic reverses. Answering a social media complaint increases advocacy by 20 percent; answering on discussion boards yields the highest lift at 25 percent. The greatest gains come from responding to haters who do not expect a response, because exceeding expectations creates outsized positive reactions.

Baer argues that customer service has become a spectator sport. He predicts onstage feedback will surpass offstage as younger consumers become the dominant purchasing group. He notes that handling a social media interaction costs less than one dollar on average, compared to more than six dollars for a phone call. He warns that many onstage haters turn to public channels only after traditional customer service has failed; TNS research found that 71 percent of online complaints originated because private channels had disappointed the customer. He highlights review sites as an overlooked opportunity, citing Hotel 41 in London, which invested in service quality rather than advertising and became TripAdvisor's top-rated hotel in the city.

Five obstacles prevent businesses from embracing complaints. The first is the proliferation of channels; 74 percent of consumers use three or more channels when dealing with large companies. The second is overwhelming feedback volume; company participation in online channels actually increases total feedback by 30 to 40 percent. The third is taking complaints personally; Baer cites research showing that cortisol released during criticism can impair judgment for 26 hours or more. The fourth is fear of being scammed; Baer argues the cost of a few undeserved gift cards is far lower than the cost of ignoring complaints. The fifth is the absence of a customer-first culture; he points to the global spending imbalance of 500 billion dollars annually on marketing versus just nine billion on customer service.

For handling offstage haters, Baer presents the H-O-U-R-S playbook: be Human, use One channel, Unify your data, Resolve the issue, with Speed. He stresses that customers who select a channel expect resolution in that same channel, and that first-contact resolution makes customers nearly twice as likely to buy again. He cites the average e-mail response time of nearly 44 hours as evidence that many companies are squandering offstage relationships.

For onstage haters, he presents the F-E-A-R-S playbook: Find all mentions, display Empathy, Answer publicly, Reply only twice, Switch channels. He introduces his Rule of Reply Only Twice: Never respond more than twice to the same person in the same online conversation, because further engagement drags the business into unproductive negativity. When issues require private information, he recommends switching to the private messaging function of the same platform rather than forcing customers to call.

In the final chapter, Baer identifies five emerging trends. Proactive customer experience involves reaching out before customers complain; KLM Royal Dutch Airlines' airport team reunites passengers with items left on planes, often before the customer notices. Self-service solutions allow customers to solve problems independently; Baer profiles Holiday World, an amusement park whose exhaustive online information has helped it earn overwhelmingly positive reviews. Community-based service enables customers to help one another; Microsoft Xbox's volunteer Ambassador program handles 70 to 80 percent of consumer questions. Specialized service apps like Peoplocity allow real-time feedback to nearby businesses. Mobile messaging platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and WeChat are poised to become dominant customer service channels, potentially marginalizing e-mail the way e-mail marginalized direct mail.

Baer concludes with three lessons: Customer service is more complicated than ever, but the formula for success is achievable; interacting with upset customers is fully worth the effort; and the overarching imperative is to answer every complaint, in every channel, every time.