One week ago today I posted a blog entitled Would You Risk Losing A Customer for $1.70? It was the story of my last lunch at a local Romano’s Macaroni Grill®. While the food and service were fine, I was disappointed because I was not able to redeem a “Free Appetizer” coupon for the appetizer that I wanted.
Within hours of posting that blog I received an e-mail from Larry, a brand manager at Romano’s Macaroni Grill®. He apologized for the difficulty I had redeeming the coupon. The following day I received a call from Peter, an area director. He also apologized for my difficulty. I was amazed at the speed of this response; I was not expecting any response at all. I was also very pleased that representatives of the company took the time to contact me about my experience.
Making contact in a situation like this is important, but the tone of the contact will make or break the experience for the customer. While both Larry and Peter apologized for my difficulty, and said that it should not have happened, neither of them tried to explain why it may have happened. This is important because long explanations sound to customers like excuses. Customers are not interested in excuses. They just want their issues handled. In this case, Larry and Peter’s message was simple – our organization let you down. This should not have happened. We are sorry. This message is short, sweet and powerful.
Larry and Peter also went one step further. They offered to send me a token of their appreciation for my business with the hope that they could earn the right to serve me again in one of their restaurants. Once again their focus was on the customer (me in this case).
Larry and Peter did it right. Without solicitation they reached out to a dissatisfied customer and took the steps necessary to correct the situation. They have earned the right to serve me again.
Swiftly and efficiently handling customer issues is so important to any organization. When it is done well, it can actually enhance the relationship. This happens because the customer now has confidence that future issues, if they should arise, will be resolved promptly.
However, (there always seems to be a dreaded however) organizations don’t get this chance very often. For every 100 dissatisfied customers, only about 4 or 5 will let you know of their dissatisfaction. The other 95 or 96 will just stop being customers without letting you know why. Therefore, make sure your procedures are set up to satisfy the customer at every point of contact. In other words, do it right the first time, because, odds are, you won’t get a second chance. If you are fortunate enough to get that second chance, follow the example set by Larry and Peter. Both you and your customer will be happy with the outcome.
[...] You’ll know what people are saying about you, your company, and your products which is critical to monitoring your online reputation (for a good example of how this can work, go here). [...]