LEGAL
Businesses of all kinds routinely interact with their customers through the Web, social media, mobile applications, and a variety of other electronic systems and platforms. These technologies enable enterprises to meet customer demands and enhance the quality of their customer relationships. Increasingly however, customers find that they are not satisfied by the level of service they receive from businesses through these online and other electronic interactions. This growing customer dissatisfaction is leading governments around the world to establish and enforce obligations and standards to govern electronic customer relations. Your organization should be aware of these evolving requirements and should act to ensure that its business operations comply with them.
A growing number of businesses attempt to restrict online customer commentary. Frustrated with what they often perceive to be inaccurate or unfair online complaints about their goods or services, some enterprises attempt to block negative customer comments. This is a very bad idea.
Customer complaints and criticisms are common on social media, blogs, websites, and other electronic communications platforms. These negative comments can have an adverse impact on businesses. However, efforts to silence online critics sometimes draw even more negative commentary as a backlash to actions perceived to be suppression of useful consumer information. Consumers who receive reprimands or threats from businesses now routinely publicize those material in blogs, social media, and other electronic platforms, thus immediately making the businesses involved the targets of public criticism.
Regulatory authorities are increasingly aware of the importance of electronic consumer commentary. They are now acting more vigorously to protect that commentary against unreasonable suppression efforts by businesses. For example, California recently enacted legislation intended to prevent businesses from using contracts, terms of service, and other legal mechanisms to block the ability of consumers from expressing negative comments regarding businesses through electronic communications platforms.
It is generally a mistake for enterprises to attempt to impede negative comments from customers in electronic media. Although businesses can and should make active use of digital media to express their side of the story and to make sure that a fair and accurate presentation of the facts is available, businesses should not try to block negative customer comments.
Efforts to silence or threaten complaining customers often result in a worse situation for the businesses involved as they become the targets of ridicule and additional criticism in electronic forums. Additionally, as the new California law suggests, such actions by companies are considered to be illegal or inappropriate in a growing number of jurisdictions.
Some businesses have attempted to reduce the level of customer support they provide. In an effort to reduce operating costs, some companies devote fewer resources to customer assistance. Instead, they frequently route customers with questions or concerns to public forums such as websites and blogs to seek answers to their product or service questions.
Not surprisingly, customers often find this approach to be frustrating and aggravating. When they have questions or complaints regarding a product or service, they expect to have a reasonable opportunity to communicate directly with a knowledgeable representative of the company involved. Denial of such communications channels causes significant consumer irritation.
Government authorities now increasingly recognize the importance of customer access to support and assistance. Those authorities are now more willing to interpret legal requirements in ways that preserve consumer communications rights and opportunities.
For example, in Germany the Berlin Regional Court recently ordered Google to provide for meaningful responses to customer inquiries and complaints. German law requires that telecommunications and media service companies provide a method for consumers to communicate quickly and effectively with the companies.
Google offered its German customers an electronic mail address for correspondence. However, the company indicated that it did not regularly monitor messages sent to that address. Accordingly, Google advised customers to consult publicly accessible online self-help sources for answers to questions instead of expecting answers from Google.
The German court determined that Google's approach to online customer support violated German law. The court concluded that it is not enough for a business merely to provide a communications method, but no meaningful substantive responses. German law requires effective communications with consumers and failure to do so can result in significant fines.
Many businesses have employed harsh business terms and practices in their interaction with customers, as a matter of course. A common example of this approach is the use of unreasonable terms in agreements, including online terms of service, between a business and its customers.
Traditionally, many businesses have made their contracts and terms of service with customers unreasonably one-sided, favoring the businesses. Increasingly, courts and consumer protection regulators are refusing to enforce these unfair and unreasonable contract terms.
Many enterprises are also routinely criticized for the harsh and aggressive practices they frequently apply to their customers. Company representatives who interact with consumers to answer questions or to address complaints are often criticized for harsh and unhelpful behavior which, at times, involves bullying and harassment of consumers.
Government authorities are now widely aware of consumer concern over these harsh and unfair business terms and practices. Those authorities are increasingly willing to take action against businesses that abuse their customers. All enterprises should reflect upon their terms of service and methods of interaction with consumers, and should act promptly to make sure that their conduct is fair and reasonable.
Previously, government authorities paid little attention to customer relations in the digital environment. Enterprises had a great deal of freedom to interact with their customers in digital media in essentially any way they chose. As the scope of electronic commerce has dramatically expanded, however, that situation has changed substantially.
Legislators, regulators, and courts in many different places now actively monitor customer relations in the digital environment. Previously established rules of conduct regarding consumer protection and appropriate commercial practices are now widely applied to online and other forms of electronic interaction with customers. Additionally, new rules of conduct are being implemented aimed specifically at customer relations involving electronic media.
In this rapidly changing regulatory environment, all businesses should evaluate their policies and practices for digital customer relations. They should act to ensure that those policies and practices comply with all legal requirements. In addition, enterprises should recognize that fair and reasonable customer relations in electronic media are not only increasingly required by law, but are also sound business actions. Treating customers with respect in the digital environment can yield important competitive advantages for all businesses.
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