The near-universal adoption of smartphones and social media has fundamentally altered the science of complaints. Critics ("haters") can now express their displeasure faster and more publicly than ever.

But haters are not your problem... Ignoring them is.

My research with Edison found two main hater types: "onstage" haters, who publicly launch complaints via social media and online review sites; and "offstage" haters, who conduct their complaints via more private channels, such as email and phone.

There are no meaningful differences in educational level or annual income between online hater types. There are also no gender differences of note between onstage and offstage haters.

However, across all channels combined, men complain more often: 22% of men have complained to a business seven times or more in the past year, compared with 16% of women, our research found.

Age Has a Significant Impact on How and Where People Complain

More than 90% of American complainers in nearly every age category have complained offstage via phone or email.

Among onstage haters, young people are far more likely to have complained via social media, discussion boards, forums, and online review sites than have older consumers. More than 80% of 25-34-year-olds have complained publicly, compared with 58% of survey respondents age 65 or older.

The 'Look at Me' Ethos

Facebook is a favorite haven of onstage haters. But when examining the relationship between channels and complaints, I begin to wonder whether Facebook's pervasiveness, ease of use, and "look at me" ethos is disproportionately fueling onstage haters. After all, you have to create status updates about something, and "I've been wronged by this company" is a good way to solicit interactions from friends and digital acquaintances.

Some 94% of frequent complainers have a Facebook account, and among research participants who claim to use Facebook several times per day, nearly one-fourth have complained seven or more times in the past year. That group of hardcore Facebook fans is 300% more likely to be frequent complainers than people who do not use Facebook at all.

That dynamic is even more pronounced with Twitter, although the total number of users is smaller: 70% of heavy complainers have a Twitter account, but nearly one-third of the respondents who use Twitter several times per day are frequent complainers.

Across every social media platform, including Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Snapchat, Vine, WhatsApp, and WeChat, the heavier the usage, the more likely the consumer is to complain about businesses.

Considering the proliferation of social media and social networks, that dynamic isn't going to change any time soon, if ever.

Do Online Haters Want an Answer, or Do They Want an Audience?

Social media is facilitating complaints and breeding onstage haters. But the issues that are communicated in social media, review websites, discussion boards, and online forums are sometimes more frivolous than those in telephone or email interactions. Especially in social media, consumers often post quick missives without much depth.

Mason Nelder, formerly director of central insights and social business at Verizon, sees this difference every day: "Typically, the people who send email have, I think, much more meaning behind what they're writing, because it's long-form. In social media, because it's short-form, it's much more emotional. It's almost like, if they took time to think about it and actually write about it appropriately, it might not be as emotionally charged."

What we categorize as a "complaint" in social media (in particular) isn't a "complaint" in the same sense that a well-crafted email or a telephone call is a "complaint." Instead, these short, social missives are often simply expressions of the current situation. And among heavy social media users, any customer experience falling short of perfect is legitimate grounds to instantly admonish the business.

In the same way that bumper stickers are the most shallow form of political expression, social media grousing is the thinnest form of customer complaints.

Offstage haters want an answer. In many cases, onstage haters want an audience.

Our research found that when people complain in private, they almost always expect a response from the business or company. Yet, when complaining in public, onstage haters expect a response roughly half the time or less. That ratio varies by channel.

Richard Binhammer agrees, recalling his time at Dell: "Often, even when customers are being difficult in public, they're just calling you out to get your attention. And once they've got your attention they actually turn around and can become good customers."

Only Half of Online Haters Actually Want Help

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

image of Jay Baer

Jay Baer is a best-selling author of six books and has spent 25 years in digital marketing and CX. His firm—Convince & Convert—provides word of mouth, digital marketing, and customer experience advice and counsel to some of the world's most important brands.