Six months ago my computer started to die. Honestly, I hadn’t bought a machine with a enough hardware power to handle what I throw at them so I tend to burn them up (literally) too quickly. So this time I decided to get serious and get a machine that was beefy enough to last. Which meant I had to order it online. I determined what I wanted and did my research. I found a company that could do what I wanted at a reasonable price and had terrific reviews. It was great!
Six months later I received an email from the company asking about my experience. It wasn’t stellar at the beginning but part of that was my fault. So in all fairness I answered their questions. I received a confirmation thanking me for my feedback and letting me know if I went to Google and posted a review giving them high marks, I would be entered in a drawing for an iPad and receive a discount code for future purchases that could be shared with family and friends! So how many of the reviews I read were “bought” with this promotion and how many were legit?
Actually, it doesn’t matter. Because in that one email, the company has undone all the work they did to build things up. Where I was willing to own my fault in the problems I had with the computer, I now feel like I was sold a bill of goods. I will not buy from them again because I can’t trust them. They buy their friends.
Rewarding loyalty is a good idea in business, but be careful it doesn’t damage trust. We buy from those we know, like and trust. And when we can’t know you, like and trust become even more important.
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