No one gets excited over a complaint about their business, but at some point or another, even the best businesses will receive criticism. What separates the most successful entrepreneurs from the least successful is how that information is viewed and managed.

If you subscribe to the notion that a complaint voiced by a customer is a blessing, it can give you, as the business owner, an opportunity to consider the comment and correct it. Feedback from customers helps tweak operations and often improves the deliverability of services or goods. It's an invitation to explore other options.

Often problems can arise when an entrepreneur/business owner becomes defensive about a complaint or feedback that may be viewed as less than stellar. Rather than try to defend the current operation or system, it helps to look at the situation from your customer's perspective. Sometimes, we are too close to our systems to see them objectively. The saying "you can't see the forest through the trees" comes to mind. Additionally, in business, when everything is "perfect," it's already teetering on being obsolete. So having feedback - even when it's not exactly what you want to hear - helps sharpen your business in ways you might not have explored otherwise.

Entrepreneurs know that whatever term is used - feedback, constructive criticism, or good old-fashioned complaints - taking something from a negative perspective and turning it into something that positively helps your business is always a win-win situation. Whether you are already an entrepreneur or considering business ownership, it is good advice to accept feedback that may help your overall success.

If you are considering business ownership through franchising, contact me to start the process of exploring opportunities!