 Customer
Recovery First, System Recovery Second!
I
was staying at a dive resort in Papua New Guinea
recently. It was quite pleasant, with friendly staff,
comfortable accommodation and good food.
I enjoyed a night dive with hungry starfish, scurrying
crabs and parrot fish asleep amidst the coral. After
the dive, however, I realized someone had slipped into
my cabin and scurried off with a pair of pants and a
matching canvas belt.
I did not sleep well and next morning reported the loss
to the resort manager. ‘Oh dear, we do have that
problem,’ she said. ‘Are you sure you locked
your door?’ I assured her that I had, to which
she replied, ‘I guess we need to change the lock
on that cabin.’
And that was it. From my point of view, someone had
entered my room and helped themselves to my clothing.
From her point of view, ‘We need to change the
lock.’
No apology. No offer to replace the lost clothing. No
complimentary waiver of fees.
I did no more diving at that resort (who knows what
else might scurry off?) and left a few days early.
Key Learning Point
When
something goes wrong for your customer, you may know right
away what needs to be done. But before you fix or change
the system, set your precious customer at ease. Remember,
there is a personal side to every breakdown. It's the
side your customer feels first.
Action Steps
Be
sure your service recovery plan takes care of your customer's
feelings and emotions first, and fixes your system second.
Next Article in Customer Service Guarantees >>
When Service Goes Wrong, Bounce Back!
First Article in Customer Service Improvement >>
What is Ron's Website Really For?
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Ron Kaufman is an internationally acclaimed customer service training educator for quality service.
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