By Melanie Wilt

Constructive criticism. We say we want it. We know that if we take it, our businesses and lives could be improved. But, we struggle to accept it.

In the communication loop, there is a Sender and a Receiver with a message somewhere in the middle. Historically, companies have been the experts at being the Sender and transmitting a message to the Receiver. The best Senders accept feedback from the Receiver. And, the proliferation of social media has made the Receiver-to-Sender feedback chain transparent, making constructive criticism visible to our customers and ultimately, the world. It impacts our reputations.

My jaw dropped when I first saw the Domino’s Pizza commercial about how focus groups and surveys told them their “crust tastes like rubber.” The tag line “Oh, yes we did” proactively answers my question “You did what?!” It’s unexpected and refreshing to hear a large nationwide company embrace feedback that leads to drastic strategic changes. I’m sure Domino’s didn’t base this campaign or a new pizza recipe on one blog comment – they proactively surveyed and interviewed consumers to get additional qualitative and quantitative data to ensure they were reacting to facts. Apparently, the facts supported comments like “the crust tastes like rubber.”

Personally, I have not had a Domino’s pizza in about five years, but I am committed to trying the new recipe to give this proactive company another shot at earning my business. If it doesn’t work, maybe they’ll ask me for some more feedback so they can continue to improve their product.

Feedback is about continuous improvement, and while sometimes it hurts to hear it, listening to feedback better prepares our companies and reputations to serve future customers needs.

So, please comment freely on my blog post. I might take it hard, but I value your feedback.