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- When Service Goes Wrong...Bounce Back!
by Ron Kaufman
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- Capture the advantage behind your next service breakdown.
- We all try to do things right. No business sets out to do wrong when
servicing customers. But life is full of unexpected moments and inevitably, mistakes do
happen. While many people in businesses focus on doing things right the first time, very
few seem to take a powerful interest in setting things right when things do go wrong. In
those moments, a passion for "zero defects" often gives way to "Let's get
this mess cleaned up fast, and get back to business as usual."
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- Because of this attitude, businesses miss an important opportunity to
build customer loyalty and valuable goodwill. It is exactly when things go wrong that
customers are most sensitive about how they are treated, most likely to share their
experiences with friends and colleagues, and most likely to make lasting decisions about
whether to bring their future business back to a company, or to its rivals.
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- We know that mistakes will happen. What we do not know is how we will be
treated when we go back to get the mistake corrected. "Will they treat me as if it is
my fault?" "Will they argue with me?" "Will they make it difficult for
me to prove my purchase, fill out papers, or otherwise file my complaint?"
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- In these unpleasant moments, customers' sensitivities are heightened. If
they were casual shoppers before, they become discerning now. If they were discerning
shoppers before, they become hyper-sensitive when things go wrong.
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- Make that sensitivity work in your favor. If service errors are quickly
and professionally handled, customer loyalty can actually "bounce back" to
higher heights.
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- Look at this example: You buy a pair of expensive shoes at a small
boutique and pay cash. Go home and, eventually, you throw away the receipt. Two weeks
later as you're walking down the street, the heel pops off and falls beyond reach into the
drain below. So you decide to return the expensive shoes back at the boutique. But of
course you're a bit nervous since you've thrown away your cash receipt.
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- Now imagine the sales clerk welcoming you with a smile, and right away
setting you at ease about not keeping your receipt. She promptly gives you a new pair of
shoes and then adds in a free pair of matching socks "to thank you for coming back,
and to apologize for the inconvenience".
- Would you return to that boutique again in the future? Would you
recommend that boutique to your friends? Of course you would. Your loyalty has actually
gone up because you had a service problem and it was well handled.
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- This is the key point: when things go wrong, you have a tremendous
opportunity to build more customer loyalty just by quickly and generously setting things
right.
- Use these seven simple steps to gain customer loyalty by "Bouncing
Back" with S-E-R-V-I-C-E recovery.
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- S-ay You're Sorry.
There's nothing like a sincere apology, delivered right away, to let people know you
really care. There's no need to grovel, nor apologize forever. One honest and heartfelt
apology will suffice.
- E-xpedite
Solutions.
The faster you can fix the problem, the better. This is not the time to calculate the cost
of repairing the damage. Do what it takes to set things right. Costs will be forgotten or
absorbed over time, but benefits last forever.
- R-espond to the
Customer.
Remember, people are involved, not just products, dates and orders. Take the time to
empathize. Be a listening ear. Keep personal contact; use the phone, send a fax, stay in
touch. And when it's all over, thank them personally with a note, small gift or other
special gesture.
- V-ictory to the
Customer.
Build higher levels of customer loyalty by giving more than what they expect. Refunds,
discounts, special assistance, extra services; it doesn't have to be money! But whatever
it is, do it fast. No loyalty is gained from a refund or gesture that takes months to
negotiate, authorize or discuss.
- I-mplement
Improvements.
Change your processes and improve training to avoid the problem next time.
Institutionalize improvements.
- C-ommunicate
Results.
Spread the word so that everyone can learn from what happened. Provide full information
about consequences and improvements.
- E-xtend the
Outcome.
Don't stop working when they stop complaining. Stay in touch until you are sure the
customer comes back and their long-term loyalty is assured.
- What else can you do to keep your customers coming back for more? Make it
easy for your customers to complain! Create new ways for customers to let you know what's
wrong.
- Here are some ideas to get you started:
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- Set up a telephone hotline for immediate response to customer comments and
complaints.
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- Give counter staff the power to take prompt and significant actions for
your customers.
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- Conduct focus groups with a cross-section of customers to find out what
they want you to improve.
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- Run surveys to keep track of your customers' changing expectations. Find
out what customers are buying now, and what they want in the future.
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- Provide easy-to-use "comment cards" at all points of customer
contact. Insert them in outgoing mail. Show your appreciation for responses, and reply fast.
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- Become a customer of your best competitors. Eagerly seek out what they do
better or differently than you. Then make appropriate improve-ments in your business
operation.
- Long-term, loyal customers lead to lower costs, repeat orders, frequent
referrals and expanding profit margins. Losing one of these precious patrons is much more
costly than the revenue from a single sale!
- Service recovery does cost money (although a sincere apology costs
nothing and goes a long way towards appeasing upset customers). But perhaps service
recovery shouldn't be seen as a cost at all?!
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- "Bouncing Back!" through generous service recovery is a proven
strategy for building repeat business and long-term sustainable profits. It's not a
cost... it's an intelligent business investment.
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- Ron's successful background includes high-impact special events at the
Rose Bowl, the Great Wall of China, St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow and on the Capitol
Mall in Washington DC. His unique approaches to leadership and learning have been featured
in LIFE Magazine, the New York Times and frequently on TV. A graduate of Brown University,
USA, Ron is certified in Applied Neuro-linguistics and is a professional member of the
National Speakers Association. For more information please visit his web site: http://www.ronkaufman.com/
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