Bonobos Employee #2 Demonstrates the Right Way to Respond to Criticism

Yesterday, I was not kind to the folks who wrote the Bonobos ad posted here.

Of course, I had no idea whether or not anybody at Bonobos would ever see my critique. To my shock and delight, Employee #2 at Bonobos (Adam) posted a comment within 15 minutes from the time I hit “publish.” I was both surprised and impressed.

Apparently, Adam discovered my post via Twitter. His initial response to my post was much different than I expected. He wrote:

This is great feedback. Not a great ad. Lots of excuses we could make but ultimately we fail on all the points you mention. We will definitely put these ideas to use and have the copywriters take a look around the blog. We’re still a young company (started in late 2007) and have only recently expanded our marketing efforts in a meaningful way. We’re getting better but have a long way to go.

I wasn’t only impressed by the way Adam responded. From one salesman to another, I was impressed that he continued to promote Bonobos in an endearing way.

As he replied in the comments: “Hopefully Ryan’s ad made you want to go buy some stuff at Bonobos! Even though the Bonobos version didn’t. Thanks for the feedback.”

Another blog reader (Matt) was also impressed with how Adam handled the criticism. He said:

If nothing else, I’m blown away by the way Adam from Bobonos is jumping all over this and ever-so-politely using even this slightly negative press to build his brand. You think Levi’s or Dockers would be doing the same? Heck no. Kudos Adam. I’m a copywriter, so I don’t often wear pants or even leave the house. But if I did I’d consider Bobonos. (It is fun to say.)

Many people online just get angry when they’re criticized. They say things they shouldn’t. They turn off potential customers.

But just remember… if you keep your cool and respond to criticism in the right way, you can still win over new customers.

In case you missed yesterday’s post, you can check out my critique of the Bonobos ad here.

-Ryan M. Healy