Something to consider if you provide a service…

Have you ever posted about restaurant that you ate at that gave slow service or had poor food?  Or the cable company?  Or the hair stylist that you went to and vow to never go back to them?  Or your child’s school/teacher?  Have you sat with co-workers or friends and discussed a business that you used and decided that you did not want to use them again?  Did you go to each plumber, stylist, or restaurant manager and complain?   Did that person or business come up to you at a later time and accuse you of talking trash about them?  Probably not.

If your business is a restaurant, then you are subject to patrons publicly liking or disliking your business (whether the food or the service). In fact, the internet is full of places for you to leave your public ratings on your business. If you are a plumber, carpenter, hair stylist, store owner…you too will have customers talk about your business (in print, on the internet, or in person, etc.) In fact, Angie’s List is a way that many of us publicly find out what others like or dislike about someone’s work.
If you are an author, your work is also out there for public review and we authors know that there are those who will throw down a 1* review on amazon that can trash your work publicly and there is nothing you can do about it.  We’re told to suck it up, get a thick skin, etc.
BUT, if your business is in the publishing field (editing, proofing, designs, formatting, narrators, etc) – I don’t find that there is a way for customers to “rate” the service given.  And God forbid, that if you do talk about the service to others, you are accused of “talking trash about someone behind their back”. Something to consider. If you provide a service for hire, perhaps a rating system would be helpful.