Scott Van Pelt rips hater a new poop chute
I came across a classic piece of judicious customer service that's bookmarkworthy for anyone in the broadcasting game when they need to see how to deal with mindless detractors. While I am a nice guy and do want to make people happy through my work, I'm a realist. The world is filled with jerks who have too much time on their hands and don't hesitate to voice their opposition towards something. I appreciate feedback of any sort and realize there is value in criticism, but there are inevitably going to be haters.
I've always been of the mind that rather than cowering down to the customer being right all the time, when people bitch service-oriented people should actually bitch back and dialectically put people in their place, as a means of helping them see what they're really after. It's reverse psychology quality control.
This is the one thing I don't like about being in the public eye - the unjustifiable scrutiny and the people that rant and rail on you for whatever reason, or just because. I've come to accept it as a necessary evil and just try to manage to have those positively supporting me outweigh those who rip my craft. Most liberal-minded journalism "experts" would advise taking the high road, either not entertaining such activity at all, or doing the empty and perfunctory "thanks for your thoughts, we'll consider your suggestions..." reply.
Sorry, baby. Thumper's "if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all" rule never really stuck with me. I've always grown up believing that you shouldn't let your mouth start something your ass can't finish. So if someone cast the first stone, they've got it coming to them. Diplomatically, at least.
Scott Van Pelt, a colleague in the sports broadcasting biz and my favorite SportsCenter anchor since Rich Eisen, crafted a gem of a retort towards an online hater, and really annihilated the guy. ESPN not surprisingly gets a lot of this criticism, because they do what everyone wishes they could. He reinforces a de facto rule I've enjoyed telling people for years about dealing with the media: don't screw with the media, especially at the network level. You can watch the news, or you can be the news - your choice.
Bravo, Scott. You the man.
I've always been of the mind that rather than cowering down to the customer being right all the time, when people bitch service-oriented people should actually bitch back and dialectically put people in their place, as a means of helping them see what they're really after. It's reverse psychology quality control.
This is the one thing I don't like about being in the public eye - the unjustifiable scrutiny and the people that rant and rail on you for whatever reason, or just because. I've come to accept it as a necessary evil and just try to manage to have those positively supporting me outweigh those who rip my craft. Most liberal-minded journalism "experts" would advise taking the high road, either not entertaining such activity at all, or doing the empty and perfunctory "thanks for your thoughts, we'll consider your suggestions..." reply.
Sorry, baby. Thumper's "if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all" rule never really stuck with me. I've always grown up believing that you shouldn't let your mouth start something your ass can't finish. So if someone cast the first stone, they've got it coming to them. Diplomatically, at least.
Scott Van Pelt, a colleague in the sports broadcasting biz and my favorite SportsCenter anchor since Rich Eisen, crafted a gem of a retort towards an online hater, and really annihilated the guy. ESPN not surprisingly gets a lot of this criticism, because they do what everyone wishes they could. He reinforces a de facto rule I've enjoyed telling people for years about dealing with the media: don't screw with the media, especially at the network level. You can watch the news, or you can be the news - your choice.
Bravo, Scott. You the man.
posted by Jason Salas @ 12:57 PM
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