Recently I was facilitating an Outstanding Customer Service
program and broke for lunch. Knowing that the restaurants
in the area left much to desire as far as service I gave the
students an extra fifteen minutes for lunch.
Sure enough a group of four students came rushing into the
classroom with their lunches in hand. They apologized and
quickly explained that they received poor service at a
restaurant (This restaurant is part of a national chain. Hint:
The restaurant's name references a day in the week. I can't
give you the complete answer). They explained that after the
waiter initially took their order, they waited 45 minutes before
their food finally arrived. During the wait, no one came to
check on them.
Finally, when the food arrived, it was time for the group to
return to class. They were not happy, so they asked to
speak with the restaurant manager. The manager
approached and asked, "What was the problem?" One of my
students explained the situation to which the restaurant
manager replied, "The food ticket only shows you were
waiting for eleven minutes." My students were still not
satisfied and said as much to the manager. She asked them,
"Would you like dessert?" My students re-emphasized their
dissatisfaction. Each time my students expressed their
unhappiness, the manager would say she was sorry. But my
students weren't buying it. The manager then left without
explaining where and what she was doing. The manager
returned and told my students that their meals were free.
Even though the manager gave them free meals my students
said they will never go back to that restaurant or any other
restaurant in that chain.
So why weren't these customers happy? The restaurant had
an opportunity to turn a difficult customer service experience
into a winning situation for all and squandered it. Not only
will these patrons never go back to any restaurant in that
chain, but they will tell others about their unhappy
experience. The unhappy customer, on average, will tell 27
other people about their experience. With the use of the
internet, whether web pages or e-mail, that number can
increase to the thousands, if not millions with the click of a
button. However, according to the Department of Consumer
Affairs, 82-95% of unhappy customers will come back if
impressed and actually refer five new customers.
Let's take a look at the ten secrets that will not only win back
your customer in any situation, but have them referring new
customers that will add more money to your bottom line
revenue.
1. Smile
Nothing can turn a hostile situation into positive moment
faster than a sincere smile. A smile that says, "I want to help
you." It communicates that you are positive about the
interaction with the customer. A sincere smile enhances the
communication process so that you can find the solution
faster.
2. Introduce Yourself as the Solution Creator
Make sure you introduce yourself, find out the customer's
name, and let your customer know your position and why
you are there. This lets the customer know you are taking
responsibility for finding a solution. You might say
something like:
"Hello, my name is Mike. I am the manager at this location. I
am here to assist you in this situation, please tell me about
it."
Notice I didn't say, "What's the problem?" By using
"What's the problem?" you start the customer service
situation in a negative note. The customer is thinking
"You're the problem," "This establishment is the problem,"
"The whole world is the problem," etc. By starting your
conversation with "I am here to assist you in this situation,
please tell me about it" you are setting up a "verbal
agreement" in the customer's mind to move to a solution.
Note: If possible, please use the customer's name
throughout the conversation.
3. Listen
Customers to want tell their side of the story and feel like
they are not only heard but that you listened to them.
Mentally take a step back and dedicate yourself to actively
listening to the customer's story with an open mind so that
you can find a solution. In the above situation, the manager
stood silently while my students were explaining their story.
Be active in your listening and create empathy ("put yourself
in the customer's shoes") with statements such as:
"I can appreciate what you're saying."
"I can understand how you'd feel that way."
"I can see how you'd be upset."
"It sounds as if we've caused you inconvenience."
"What I understand the situation to be..."
Please stay away from communication that alienates the
customer such as:
"I don't know why you are so upset."
"That's the first complaint we ever got on that."
"I know how you feel." (Because you don't)
"Boy, you're sure mad"
In the above story, the students told the manager that they
weren't happy with the service because they didn't have
time to eat their meals. The manager, not listening, said,
"Would you like dessert?" The solution was not more food.
Listen for the solution!
4. Be Sorry for the Right Reasons
Be sincere in your concern for the customer and say sorry
the correct way. Many times in the heat of the customer
service situation we want to show some sign of concern so
we do the following:
The first words of the interaction are with the words,
"I'm sorry." First, you didn't find out any information from
the customer to be sorry.
When saying you are sorry, say exactly what you are
sorry for.
The students, even though the manager kept repeating she
was sorry, didn't think the manager was sincere in her
apology. The correct way to say you are sorry is:
"I'm sorry you had to wait so long for your food."
"I'm sorry that you were treated that way."
"I'm sorry that our employee said that to you."
"I'm sorry this situation happened to you."
Let the customer know exactly why you are sorry. The
students thought the manager's "sorrys" were insincere
because she never mentioned why she was sorry.
5. Give Your Personal Assurance
Let the customer know you will personally create a solution
for them. It could be as simple as saying, "I'm taking
personal responsibility for this."
6. Ask Them What They Want
One of the fears that we have when trying to satisfy the
customer is that we think they want something out of our
reach. Ask the customer, "What would you like me/us to
do?" or "What would make this situation right for you?"
You will be surprised that in most cases the customer will ask
for less than you were expecting.
7. Use Statements of Conviction
Say the following to gain the confidence of the customer:
"We're going to do something about that!"
"We will make a change right now!"
8. Present a Clear Plan of Action
Make sure the customer knows what you are going to do to
correct the situation for them. Ninety-five percent of making
things right for the customer involves making them aware
that you are taking action to make a difference for them.
Explain to them the actions and timelines you need to take to
make things right for them. If you need to leave or make a
telephone call to obtain additional information, say:
"Excuse me while I make a telephone call to obtain the
best solution for you. This will take five minutes, can you
please wait?
"Excuse me, I need to ask the person with the missing
piece of information so that we can quickly resolve this for
you. Do you mind waiting five minutes?"
Note: Make sure you get back to the customer before the
time you specified. If you promised ten minutes, get back to
the customer before ten minutes. Rule of thumb, double the
time it would normally take to get the information. If you
know it will take ten minutes to get the answer for the
customer then tell the customer you will get back to them
within twenty minutes.
9. Move Quickly to the Solution
If you applied steps 1-8 you are ready to give the customer
the solution they wanted for a win-win situation. You can
confirm this by saying the following:
"Would this be agreeable for you?"
"Is this the solution you were looking for?"
"Will this make things right for you?"
10. Ask for the Business
If you did everything right this is the perfect time to ask the
customer to come back and do business with your
organization. You showed that you were professional,
caring, sincere, positive, and proactive. Why wouldn't they
do business with you again?
Some of the way you can say this include the following:
"We would appreciate the opportunity to serve you
again in the future."
"Please come back and I will personally guarantee you
receive outstanding service."
"Here is a 20% coupon. Please use it on your next
visit to our establishment."
It's important that you let the customer know that you
appreciate their business and want them to come back.
Remember, if you did everything right, not only will they
come back but they will tell other people to do business with
you. Use challenging customer service situations to win
back your customers and build your business.
Ed Sykes is a professional speaker, author, and success coach in the areas of leadership, motivation, stress management, customer service, and team building. You can e-mail him at mailto:esykes@thesykesgrp.com, or call him at (757) 427-7032. Go to his web site, http://www.thesykesgrp.com, and signup for the newsletter, OnPoint, and receive the free ebook, "Secrets, Stories, and Tips for Marvelous Customer Service."
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