Week 2 Part A

When I first started my career and building my clientele, the options people had for finding and contacting me were slim. It was basically text or phone. They could call the salon or my personal phone. I remember printing postcards and leaving them on cars and doors in my neighborhood to promote myself. Things sure have changed!

Today there are so many ways for potential clients to find me and for me to find businesses I need. Sometimes it can seem like there are almost too many options. As a business owner it can be challenging to keep up with all the different apps I need to remember to check. It is easy to miss a notification but it is still better to have multiple ways for people to find me.

I recently moved to a part of San Diego I am not familiar with yet. I rely on apps like Yelp to direct me to restaurants, nail salons, auto mechanic shops etc. Social media makes it so convenient to find and contact businesses you need while doing as much research you would like to do. Reading reviews is a great way to get a referral when you don't know anyone in town and I am more likely to visit a business if another person had the experience I would like to have. One of the social media features I like the most is online booking. If you think of making an appointment but the business is closed you can still do it before you forget. This is helpful for businesses also because they are able to gain more customers. 

When I am thinking about leaving a review for a business, it is usually a positive one. I typically will leave a good review for small businesses because I know how important reviews can be. New reviews can place a business closer to the top of the Yelp search page making them more visible. Small businesses need all the help they can get especially right now when so many are being closed by mandatory shut downs.

If I was unsatisfied with my experience I would probably just not go to that particular business anymore. Unless the owner did something unforgivable, I would not spend my time bad-mouthing them online. I believe that leaving a bunch of bad reviews is trolling and unnecessary. As a small business owner I know how devastating a bad review can be, especially if you had no idea your customer was unhappy. If I did receive a bad review I would comment publicly and ask them to contact me directly so I could try to make it right. I never would want to get into a public debate or argument.

Most businesses work hard to give the best experience possible and have dedicated their entire lives to making their business a success. You never know what someone is going through, I always try to give grace for bad days and bad circumstances. 

💚Casey