Responsible Criticism

I know the title of this post might be an oxymoron, so let me explain.

Social media can be both good and bad, can both work in our favor and against us, so it's something to be used responsibly.  In the last month, I've had an issue come up with two separate business and when I couldn't find a resolution at the local store, I took to social media to see if something could be done.

The first incident occurred when a business wouldn't honor one of those peel off coupons on a product that I needed on an emergency basis for my home.  When I asked why, the sales clerk couldn't explain why, just reiterating that they didn't honor them.  Knowing that I HAD to have this product to fix something in my home, I just accepted it and went on to my van.  But as I sat in the parking lot, I got upset, not getting an explanation that seemed reasonable.  Seemed crazy to me, as literally every place honors those manufacturer's coupons stuck to products, so I took to the business' Facebook page to ask why they wouldn't honor a $0.65 coupon, snapping a picture of my receipt to prove my point.  Within a half hour or so, the manager replied telling me the cashier was new and didn't know their policy and requesting that I bring in my receipt so he could give me a full refund.  I, in turn, replied explaining that I only wanted my $0.65, stating that he needed to stay in business too.  When I returned to the store to get it all solved, he did indeed give me a full refund.

The second incident involved my van.  2012 model, 58,965 miles and the transmission goes out in the middle of Monday morning traffic.  Stranded, I called my insurance for a tow to my personal mechanic, who confirmed my suspicions by lunch time.  I then called the company to find out what my options were, and was able to get it towed to the nearest dealer for free and to be repaired for free.  But what happened at the dealer sent my blood pressure through the roof.  They couldn't accept my mechanic's findings, which I was OK with, but they also couldn't give me a replacement to drive until they could diagnose it, which turned out to take 6 days.  In the meantime, I had no family vehicle to drive and had to depend on extended family for a ride.  I was even insulted on one phone call to the service dept, telling me I needed to put myself in the company's shoes.  I took to Twitter to tweet how upset I was with the service directly to the corporation in Michigan.  Within an hour, I got a message back requesting more info to which I replied with all the info.  The end result, which is still not final yet, was that I got a replacement to drive, and the dealer service dept was shut down until they could clear out their back log of cars needing service.  A win-win in my book, hoping that others in my shoes wouldn't have to wait nearly a week, without a car to drive, for a problem covered under warranty to just be "looked at", not actually repaired yet.

After these two incidents and knowing that social media worked in my favor, it does make me think, what if it didn't?  What if my remarks led to someone losing their job, their livelihood for their family?  Would that be responsible criticism?  Now I know this post might not have an educational slant to it, but what if it did?  What if all we do at our schools is share criticism?  Without any solution in mind, just aimless criticism, complaining?  Is that helpful?  I think not.  We need to be responsible with our criticism.  To have a solution in mind, or to think of how it impacts others.  We need to be someone who energizes others to action, not drain them to empty.