My honest observation is that somewhere between 5% and 9% of any demographic really actually are unreasonable malcontents who tend to create their own "unresolvable" problems.
1% sounds pretty good to me.
Yes, 1% may be very good statistically--unless you're in that 1%. Then, supposing you
are in that 1%, instead of being helped by a professional company that you did business with, they label you as a "whiner" and dismiss your claim.
When companies use or abuse their credibility to make up for a mistake on their part, that is wrong. Even if Buds did not make a mistake in the above case, their unprofessionalism in dealing with a dissatisfied customer does not speak well of their business model.
Everyone here has been at a large chain store at some point and seen an irate customer. Usually, that customer is being irrational and is probably at fault, but do you ever see a store manager yelling back at that person? No, because you want that person and his or her friends to continue doing business with you if at all possible. Now tell me how you would react if the manager of that store, in dealing with a customer, simply told them to stop whining and leave because their business really didn't matter in light of the fact that the company was still making money.
Even companies that are not known for being particularly ethical or generous with money will go out of their way to make customers happy--even if it means losing money. That's why Wal Mart has such a liberal return policy, and issues public apologies any time someone does something stupid while wearing their uniform. Customers go back there because they percieve that Wal Mart cares about their business.
In the case of the Bud's example mentioned above, a much better response would have been "We are sorry you are not satisfied with your experience. We are working to better serve customers all the time, and hope you will continue to do business with us" or something along those lines.
*I have not dealt with Buds, and I cannot speak as to their service. I am only making the point that it is unprofessional to react in the manner posted above, and that potential buyers should draw their own conclusions. As for the (rather biased) poll options, I do not think they are involved in anything illegal. They simply sell more guns and have a lower overhead than local stores that have to pay high rent on a store in a good location to sell guns...just like any other internet company.
