Why bother to even ask?

A while ago I used an application as part of my regular PR tasks. It was demonstrated well and the supplier’s sales people were personable, knowledgeable and attentive. We signed a 2-year deal. And came to regret it.

Like any sophisticated technical application there were a few technical issues every now and then. I could live with that. But the supplier committed what to me is one of the ultimate sins. They asked me for my feedback. And it just disappeared into a black hole when I gave it.

I spent a significant chunk of time one day meeting the account manager from supplier X and explaining that the application really needed some very obvious features in order for it to seamlessly integrate with my daily work routines.  He asked me to formally list them in a subsequent email so that he had the ‘evidence’ necessary to put a case for these changes.

As well as wanting a better product for my use I also felt that I was supporting supplier X by taking time to provide constructive feedback and suggestions for improvement. After all, I’d been encouraged to do that.

2 things p***ed me off subsequently:

• No feedback on my suggestions, so that eventually I was forced to ask whether anyone had ever considered them.
• No change in the application’s functionality.

Needless to say we didn’t renew.

It seems to me that supplier X was merely ticking a very superficial box by requesting my time and feedback. The missing part was what needs to come next. Which is the necessary update on what happened to my feedback. Where it went. What they did with it. And an explanation of why my suggestions themselves were not implemented.

I wonder how many others experience this in business? It’s certainly a killer in terms of relationship longevity.