If You Didn’t Want My Opinion, You Shouldn’t Have Asked!
One of the great things about what I do is that it puts me in touch with other companies that I’ve previously worked with or for. Today I received a bit of news that was disappointing, though.
About a month ago, I spent a couple hours filling in a comprehensive survey that was sent to me from one of the companies I worked for and was now working to integrate and resell. I poured my heart into the company when I was there and still love their people and their products and services to this very day. However, the same reasons I left the company continued to pop up as we worked to resell the platform – bloated interface, lack of features, high cost, etc.
I flagged the survey invitation in my inbox to respond to the survey when I could dedicate the time. Later that night and the next morning, I spent a good hour or two answering the survey. With an open text area, I was direct and to the point in my criticisms. After all, as a reseller, improvement of their product was in my best interest. I didn’t pull any punches and was very up front on what I felt the core issues to be. I also brought up the talent that had left the company – they’d lost many good employees.
Though the survey was anonymous, I knew there were tracking identifiers on the submission process and my frank remarks could be easily identified by the company as my own. I wasn’t worried about any repercussions, they had asked my opinion and I wanted to offer it to them.
Through the grapevine today (there’s always a grapevine), I found that my remarks had reverberated through the company and that, in short, I was not welcome to work with the company to further any relationship.
The result, in my opinion, is short-sighted and immature. That no one reached out to me personally shows a lack of professionalism as well. Thankfully for me, there are a lot more service providers out on the market that can supply what I need for a lot less money and much easier to integrate. I was hoping to help my old company out by supplying some fresh, honest feedback.
If they didn’t want my opinion, I wish they had never asked. It would have saved me a few hours of my time and no one’s feelings would have been hurt. No worries, though. As they wish, I will do nothing to further any relationship with them.
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