Gabe Gets It, Bischoff Doesn't: Spoilers, Criticism and Your Paying Customers

SHUT UP BISCHOFF
Photo Credit: ImpactWrestling.com

As if Impact Wrestling didn't have enough buzz around it after Bound for Glory, spoilers came out for the next set of televised tapings. Like BfG, these spoilers generated a lot of talk. Unlike BfG, the reactions have been mixed, and from where I sit (I'll discuss them more later after the jump), I feel like they're a net positive for the company. That being said, whether I agree or disagree with the criticisms, the fact that people are levying them is a good thing in general. If people care enough to say something is wrong with a product they like, it means that they want to see it succeed, at least generally. There are definitely going to be trolls who wish it would go away, but there's no fixing some people.

That's where I feel like people in charge of running a business that offers goods and services, be they concrete like "widgets" or the like or whether they be abstract like something one views, i.e. a wrestling match, make the most errors in judgment. It can be easy to lash out at people saying negative things about the product, because we as people have a tendency to take things to heart. However, the best way to engender a good rapport with fans is to always make them feel like they're being heard. Even if what they're saying is totally irrational, those people can still be catered to by not telling them they're full of shit. Trust me, ignoring someone is a lot better than going "Neener neener" at them, but I'm sure that most people don't need to be told that.

Eric Bischoff isn't most people though.

In response to both Robert Roode not winning the Impact World Championship and the spoiler for this week's Impact where James Storm is the one who does fell Kurt Angle, Bischoff took to Twitter in a less than conciliatory tone. Here's what he wrote:

Having a blast watching Internet marks react. Candy from a baby!

Not exactly greeting his haters with tact. How the fuck does anyone in their right mind get jollies from seeing potential customers show "hate" to his product? It's unbelievable.

That being said, yes, it might be gratifying to see fans in a lather over something similar to what they wanted on PPV happening on free TV. I think it's absolutely asinine and dumb to complain about being given something memorable on free television. As a cheap ass former college student who still hasn't totally grasped the fact that having money means needing to spend it on everything, I will take every bit of great programming for free and enjoy the shit out of it. At the same time, when people complain about not being able to pay for a big moment, shouldn't one take it that they WANT to hand over their cold, hard-earned cash? So, why risk alienating them so that they are dissuaded from forking over that money?

It sucks that a guy who isn't fan-friendly is in charge of a major wrestling company. Bischoff, in terms of customer relations and service, needs to be more like one Gabe Sapolsky. For all his faults being a sometimes-shameless self-promoter or for losing his booking touch, but one thing he's NEVER been was rude to his fans. I'd say his fan-friendliness has been a big reason why I feel he's a must-follow on social media, regardless of where one stands on what he's peddling. Here's his response to what Bischoff was saying today on Twitter:

@EBischoff we proudly serve the "internet marks" as you call them. Show some respect to the people that support the business.

Some might say that it feels like a cheap ploy to get viewers on his own products, but at the same time, if that were the case, why would Gabe call out another promoter for asinine comments? He should be thanking Bischoff for chasing people from Impact and giving them more disposable income to spend on DGUSA and EVOLVE. But he doesn't, because down deep, I really do think that he has his priorities straight. Making money only comes when the fans are satisfied, and being in the fans' corner leads more to making money more than doing things to make money leads to fan satisfaction.

The most disappointing thing about all this is seeing some fans take more Bischoff's tone than Sapolsky's. Why should anyone take Impact's side on this, basically saying that they deserve quarter in all this. After Bound for Glory, we had no idea that Impact had something like this in them. All the people saying "wait and see" were still in the wrong because Impact had given us no reason to believe that they could provide a payoff to a disappointing pay-per-view. So they did give us something that was intriguing in the next TV show? It's going to take a lot more to get people to stop being pessimistic about how they follow up questionable booking decisions. Hell, I wouldn't blame anyone if they doubted whether they could follow up Storm's win into something satisfying.

I think Bischoff should concentrate on improving what his company puts out on a consistent basis rather than reveling in the hate he gets from those pesky "Ten Percenters". Marginalizing fans is not good customer service. Putting out quality product? That is. If this Thursday's Impact is a step in the right direction, then that's a good start. Maybe he should worry about putting out great shows in a row rather than just doing one show and gloating. Y'know, like Gabe Sapolsky tries to do.