Xenforo Forum Staff

[Bionic Rooster]

It's definitely true that users will interpret various levels of offense

This is very true and because it is, it invalidates your second part

the burden is always on the brand representative to speak in a way that doesn't cause offense.

I think no matter what is said or how it is said the receiver will not always hear or read it the same way. How a person feels about the other person plays a major role in how someone will perceive or be affected by what's said.
The responsibility is on the receiver to not be so thin skinned and over reactive.
Time to grow up in many cases.

 

[cornnfedd]

Cant agree with you more, nowdays people just want to take offence to anything, its pretty sad to say the least and honestly it makes me wonder how these sorts of people function on a daily basis if they get offended so easily. While I dont like to say "toughen up" in a lot of cases its true..

 

[The Sandman]

Classic example:

https://xenforo.com/community/threa...kage-to-download-from-customer-portal.164980/

Definitely chose the wrong customer to get spiky with.

 

[haqzore]

The responsibility is on the receiver to not be so thin skinned and over reactive.
Time to grow up in many cases.

Cant agree with you more, nowdays people just want to take offence to anything, its pretty sad to say the least and honestly it makes me wonder how these sorts of people function on a daily basis if they get offended so easily. While I dont like to say "toughen up" in a lot of cases its true..

I disagree.

I have thick skin & I'm the last guy to get offended. Nobody bothers me online. Period.

But this conversation is one of professionalism - not catering to the thinnest skin.

A simple search would have confirmed that.

That's unprofessional.

It's almost like we didn't assume that people knew that.

That's unprofessional. Period.


It's a rude way to respond to any customer, much less one that's going out of their way to offer feedback on what they think will create a more positive experience for everyone.

It's not a matter of "thin skin". It's a matter of responding professionally to paying customers vs. treating their suggestion as a waste of time it bothered you to respond to.

 

[The Sandman]

Not the first or second time we've heard complaints like this either.

 

[haqzore]

Not the first or second time we've heard complaints like this either.

That's the most important point, I think.

I'm human. Brogan is human.
I get bothered. I get frustrated. I get snarky sometimes when I'm impatient. But when I do - and notice it - I adjust going forward and make amends where necessary.

It's the consistently poor attitude that would concern me about my employees - not just a random/sporadic occurrence.

 

[we_are_borg]

Not the first or second time we've heard complaints like this either.

Well if you run a business you should instruct people that hold a position that they need to give good advice. The only thing that needed to be done was link to where the information is. Then these sort of complaints will not pop up, and results in a happy customer. But i don’t know what is more concerning that no one is stepping in and say sorry here is the information and its not how we conduct business.

 

[MagicalAzareal]

Definitely chose the wrong customer to get spiky with.

He does seem very rude there. No room for interpretation or misunderstanding.

Could someone fire this clown? If I spoke like that in a professional capacity, people would cut me loose just like that.

 

[zappaDPJ]

I disagree.

I have thick skin & I'm the last guy to get offended. Nobody bothers me online. Period.

But this conversation is one of professionalism - not catering to the thinnest skin.


That's unprofessional.


That's unprofessional. Period.


It's a rude way to respond to any customer, much less one that's going out of their way to offer feedback on what they think will create a more positive experience for everyone.

It's not a matter of "thin skin". It's a matter of responding professionally to paying customers vs. treating their suggestion as a waste of time it bothered you to respond to.

I agree, well said, I couldn't have put it better.

 

[Anton Chigurh]

He does seem very rude there. No room for interpretation or misunderstanding.

Could someone fire this clown? If I spoke like that in a professional capacity, people would cut me loose just like that.

Fire? Hell, they don't even bother to apologize for anything. It seems like it's systemic.

 

[MagicalAzareal]

Fire? Hell, they don't even bother to apologize for anything. It seems like it's systemic.

If so, that is a very serious problem which they need to fix.

I'm not even sure a regular user should be speaking like that, let alone a representative, although a regular user would likely get a fair bit of leeway in that scenario.

 

[The Sandman]

It’s the culture of XenForo.com. It’s very different from the culture of vBulletin.com back in the Jelsoft days. Damn those were good times.

It would seem that this issue is either not recognized as a problem or not considered important by the person driving the bus.

 

[we_are_borg]

Well if the person driving the bus do not act then there will be a time to bus is going to be out of gas or worse unemployed. They need to see that customers are paying there bills.

 

[doubt]

It’s the culture of XenForo.com.

Bullseye.

 

[Anton Chigurh]

Well if the person driving the bus do not act then there will be a time to bus is going to be out of gas or worse unemployed. They need to see that customers are paying there bills.

If you're not in the clique, you're little people. BUT The product is very good and the quality keeps momentum going and the money rolling in. As long as they keep the product compelling and innovative they're likely to continue increasing market share. The snob culture there really won't hurt the bottom line any time soon IMO.

 

[sanction9]

You guys keep going on about that thread with Brogan as if the OP there was just some nice guy who simply made a polite suggestion and for no reason at all Brogan was mean to him. To me the guy was making mountains out of molehills, presenting something that will likely be a problem for only a few as a much bigger issue, and then calling out Mike and Brogan specifically in order to tell them, essentially, that they should know better:

As it stands, I have to assume it is suitable to leap from 1.5.x to 2.1.2 - but it is NOT clear. You guys (@Brogan @Mike) should have been around the block enough times now to know that assumptions are bad.

By that point he sounds a bit like a headmaster chastising dimwitted school children. If I was in a bad mood, or just not a particularly good one, and read that, I might not react positively. Especially if it were first thing in the morning, before I finished my coffee.

 

[Anton Chigurh]

It's a PATTERN, sanction. But your point seems to be that we should all approach them with hat in hand and as meekly and as humbly as possible, make polite suggestions if any at all? Walk on eggshells?

That's bass-ackwards. WE are the CUSTOMER. We really don't need to be meek humble and polite, or walk on eggshells. It's not expected anywhere and it's not a prerequisite. We're putting groceries on THEIR table. WE are due respect at all times.

 

[MagicalAzareal]

It's a PATTERN, sanction. But your point seems to be that we should all approach them with hat in hand and as meekly and as humbly as possible, make polite suggestions if any at all? Walk on eggshells?

That's bass-ackwards. WE are the CUSTOMER. We really don't need to be meek humble and polite, or walk on eggshells. It's not expected anywhere and it's not a prerequisite. We're putting groceries on THEIR table. WE are due respect at all times.

I think respect is a two-way road.

For them to demand respect, they have to provide it in return.

In a best case scenario, everyone should strive to behave civilly and politely. There will admittedly be issues as people aren't perfect and get frustrated, but customer representatives should never be venting on a customer (presumably for having to answer the same question a number of times).

If they do need to vent, they can do that in private to a counseller, family member or friend, when they're not acting in a professional capacity. This is pretty much what everyone does anyway.

And if it's really bad to the point of him being absolutely unable to control himself, then I would suggest that Brogan seeks professional therapy to work out his anger management issues.

 

[we_are_borg]

If you're not in the clique, you're little people. BUT The product is very good and the quality keeps momentum going and the money rolling in. As long as they keep the product compelling and innovative they're likely to continue increasing market share. The snob culture there really won't hurt the bottom line any time soon IMO.

Well if you are going downhill you have indeed momentum, but you may prevent people getting on the bus. But in the end it can hurt you if this gets traction. If Xenforo was my company then this was not happening at all because it would have been resolved.

 

[MagicalAzareal]

Well if you are going downhill you have indeed momentum, but you may prevent people getting on the bus. But in the end it can hurt you if this gets traction. If Xenforo was my company then this was not happening at all because it would have been resolved.

All I can say is everything looks alright right up until you fly off the edge of the cliff.