@Sentry Marketing wrote:
@jsalli - Thank you for your suggestion. I found your proposed response to be professional and well-thought out. We've made this offer nearly every time someone has posted an account similar to the OP's and over the years, many forum members have reached out to us. Recently, however, some forum members have started to attack us for making the exact offer you suggest. You don't have to look any further than Blue Moose's post. As a result, and as I fully explain via the link provided in our previous post, we have decided to reduce our participation on this forum.
Very simply, there is no reason for us to continue to monitor this forum if we are going to be treated in a hostile and unprofessional manner by forum members. There is a Catch-22 for Sentry and it goes something like this:
- We offer to research a forum members concerns and get attacked for the alleged nefarious intent of our offer.
- We stop offering to research forum members concerns and get attacked for being a company that doesn't care about their shoppers.
Some of the people criticizing us for not offering to help are the same people who criticized us for offer to help. It's ridiculous. This thread is a perfect example of why we will be limiting our participation in this forum. The accusations, prejudgement, snide comments and attacks on those who dare post supporting comments about Sentry don't exactly make for a welcoming atmosphere.
As we have always done, we will help any shopper who reaches out to us so long as they conduct themselves in a professional manner.
The first two sentences are truly all that is needed. With the rest, you are again playing into what people dislike about Sentry and I think you are missing the point. I have never seen people attack your company for saying "Hi! I'd love to look into the situation. E-mail me! Here is my contact info . . . ." (and no, you now don't need to point me to if they actually did or have). They aren't attacking you for that - they are attacking you for what you are saying after that. It's for all the additional comments you are making about shoppers and members of this forum. Sometimes, it's best to just suck it up and not respond to the hate.
I won't lie. I'm a Sentry shopper and have honestly backed off a bit. Reading certain things that you've said about other shoppers (whether I think they deserve it or not) is unprofessional, makes me cringe, and makes me question if I should continue to shop with your organization.
If you are going to reduce participation in this forum, then do that. Otherwise, I remember learning in school - KISS. Keep it short and sweet. Don't say anything else. You should never discuss a payment situation, a shopper/their performance, never bash them or call them names etc. on a public forum. At that, the last thing you want is an independent contractor to bring suit for a hostile work environment (they can and people have in this country). You mitigate your risk there as well. It should just be a simple.
"Hi Judy! I'm Dave with Sentry and I'd love to chat about this situation. E-mail me! (then provide contact info)."
"Hi Matt! I'd love to chat about this further offline. Can you e-mail me? (contact info).
"Thanks so much for the love, Jim. We appreciate all the work you do for us!"
"Sorry to hear about the troubling experience, Mary. I'd love to discuss further. Feel free to e-mail me _____"
"Hi Bob! Unfortunately we can't discuss specific shoppers and their situations online due to company policy, but we are looking into it and will address this internally and with the shopper directly. If you have specific questions, let me know! Here is my e-mail ____. Thanks!"
When you respond, you WILL get haters. You WILL get people who are snarky back and that is unfortunately a result of what has happened in the past month. When that happens, ignore them. Don't say anything.
No need to reply. Just take it in. The only thing I'd do is to let Judy know your e-mail address so she can contact you directly. Then, leave this thread alone