There will be days when nothing goes right! From employees who don’t show up, to customers who demand the moon, to equipment failures and everything in between. At the top of the list is of course taking care of the customer. Whether it’s a late arrival time, a quality issue or something else that disturbs the customer, it is our responsibility as owners of a service business to provide just that; SERVICE. People are truly WOWED when others make a concerted effort to take care of their needs. When you can provide that WOW especially unexpected, it will create a lasting impression, spread the good word about your company and generally give you lasting loyalty as a company that cares.
Here are 5 things you can do to salvage a bad experience especially if you are responsible for that bad experience:
1. Share and show a genuine and compassionate reaction to the person’s stress and predicament. Mean it!
2. Offer sincere apologies..no excuses. Show you understand how they feel.
3. Assure the customer you will take care of the situation. Then do it.
4. Either individually or through your management staff, get the situation resolved so that the customer is satisfied. Make sure processes are in place so that a similar situation does not happen again. If it does, examine your processes.
5. Go one step further to demonstrate that you want to compensate the customer for their loss or frustration. Follow up, follow up and then follow up more.
By taking stock of your process of customer complaint resolution check off the 5 items above. If one or more is missing, it may be time to re-examine your quality assurance process to make necessary changes. Remember, your company is only as good as your last happy client!
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