Keep or delete...that is the question!

[HostFrog]

Well as some of you know Web Hosting providers in general like to sugarcoat their negative comments that some customers may post about their service. It really doesn't have to involve web hosting providers really. My question is, we want to stay as true to our customers, members and visitors, however we do not want to ruin a reputation. Which brings to me should we delete negative posts (we haven't had any as of yet) and the vote is against it so far 4 to 1. I do not think this is a good idea to be honest.

[TheDPQ]

Are they valid concerns? If someone had a bad deal with a host, knowing that it happens is important. Knowing how you dealt with it is important as well. If you don't allow the comments then people will just post them elsewhere, and probably somewhere you can't find and comment/deal with it.

I have a rule on my forum that anything that causes a problem will be remove. Disliking me isn't a problem, calling me names and a nazi IS a problem. Its not what people say its how they say it, blah blah blah.

If someone has a legitimate complaint, then you need to respond to it. You might try to sweep it into a forum about comments/suggestions or something so its not glaringly obviously, but those who are looking are going to find it so it might as well be on your system with your (hopefully) quick response making the user say 'thank you , i love you again' :D

[SoftWareRevue]

... we want to stay as true to our customers, members and visitors, however we do not want to ruin a reputation. Which brings to me should we delete negative posts...Negative comments aren't going to hurt if you address them in a positive manner.

If you address their concerns in a professional and forthright manner, it will only show that you can handle complaints as easily as you can handle praise. And I think anyone reading would only come away with a more positive feeling that they could trust to go with a host that can honestly address and resolve their concerns.

[HostFrog]

Well as I stated we dont have any negative remarks as of yet, and hopefully we wont get them. However if we do, we don't want the forum to be associated with altering posts or threads like that. Basically, our service speaks for itself, anything else (as I see it) can be easily sorted out by our technical support or customer retention staff.

[TheDPQ]

Its good that you are thinking of a plan now though. I'm sure a lot of communities just FREAK OUT the first time it happens.

I've seen services with years of awesome service get torn apart by one or two people. Some people just like to complain. No matter how great you are you are bound to have some human error and end up pissing someone off.

[HostFrog]

I agree and with service you can not please everyone, and I am sure we will have our mishaps, however we try our best to prevent this from happening. Just wanted to make sure that keeping it on the forums would not harm any business we may tend to get.

[TheDPQ]

It will probably be a case-by-case situation. I would state you will not remove back feedback just because it is back feedback, but you will review each situation and move or remove it based on what they said.

Never promise never to remove bad press, just let them know you'll be reasonable about it.

Good luck with your business.

[Jan]

There is no need to remove them, people tend to be wary of a host who doesn't have any negative feedback in their support forums, but has on other forums.

[Scott]

Feedback of any sort shows a host has been around for a bit. I wouldn't delete the posts unless it was offensive to the staff in some fashion.

Someone will likely spot the fact topics are being deleted, and might well mention it against the host on another forum and that would likely damage the reputation ever more.

[writespeak]

Someone will likely spot the fact topics are being deleted, and might well mention it against the host on another forum and that would likely damage the reputation ever more.

I've seen that happen. :( IMO that looks worse than most negative posts themselves. How people handle complaints says a lot about them.

Lois

[Aussie Bob]

The wise handling of negative posts can be one of your best sales tools. That shows you're upfront and confident, and won't sweep issues under the carpet. I used to thrive on negative feedback. I loved it, as I knew it was helping me grow into a better host. :)

[Jan]

It's also a handy tool for clients. I know on the rare occasions I have had a problem, I would zoom over to the support forums to see if anyone else had an issue similar. If not, then I might either post on their forum or contact the host to see what's up.