I started my first business when I was 13. I sold personalized stationery and wrapping paper from a catalog door-to-door. Yes kids, that’s what we did before the internet. I still remember my first customer. She was a really nice lady who bought a pack of pencils from me with her name stamped on them. Honestly I have no idea if that’s even a thing anymore. Anyway, I took her order and placed it with the catalog company. When it arrived, I proudly delivered it to her door. She took the order out of the bag and I could see from the look that crossed her face she wasn’t happy. “Miss”, she began, “my name is spelled incorrectly.” I took the pencils back and showed them to my dad. Something about being 13 made me think that this couldn’t possibly have been my fault, but when we checked the order we could see that I had indeed messed up. My dad, who was a lifelong salesman, told me, “Diane, you’re just going to have to make it right.” Well I was not happy at my new business incurring a loss, but I took my Dad’s advice and reordered the pencils. I delivered them to my customer who was very understanding and even took a chance on me by ordering more from me afterwards.
Fast forward 15 years and I was a consultant for a Fortune 500 company in California. We were working on a multi-million dollar project for a large corporation that included custom software, new strategies, data analytics and processes. When we had completed development, we met with the client to discuss our go-live plan. We laid out a measured, conservative approach that included a pilot followed by a phased roll out by region. “No”, they replied. “We don’t want to wait for our benefits, we want to roll this out quickly. We’d like a ‘slash/cut’ approach where our call centers are on the old system on Friday and then switch to the new system on Monday.” We knew it was risky but they were a big client who we wanted to impress, so we agreed. We worked all weekend and when Monday rolled around we went live early that morning. And it was an absolute disaster. By this time, with the strategy work done I had already rolled off of the project and was working with another client on the East Coast, but received an urgent message that anyone who had ever touched this project was called back. Now keep in mind that we were in this mess because the client had pushed for something against our recommendations. It would have been so easy to put this back on them, but instead, we mobilized the company to make it right. I spent the next several months traveling coast-to-coast each week, helping with processes, change management and training. The first week was intense. Call center agents were not able to see the information they needed, customers were yelling at them and some agents broke down and cried while I tried to help them. But as we stabilized, working around the clock, the client appreciated us standing behind our solution and ultimately became a reference for us.
As entrepreneurs, I don’t think any of us in this room would hesitate to do what it takes to meet a commitment we made to a client. I think the challenge is in translating that to our organizations as we scale. How do we develop a culture within our companies to make it right?
According to Verint, 34% of the time customers switch companies because of service. But, according to MarTech, 50% of customers who had a poor service experience, remained with the company after being offered some sort of compensation. A study by Right Now indicated that 63% of customers who had a bad experience would return if they received a follow up and apology from a senior leader. Personally, I consider myself to be the ultimate pain in the ass when it comes to customer service. They say that doctors make the worst patients, and I must admit to having threatened to unleash the dogs of social media Hell on companies that have royally screwed up. But really, I was just looking for them to show accountability for their mistakes and to make it right. I just wanted them to tell me that they valued me as a customer and would do the fair thing to make it right.
Great customer service doesn’t mean being perfect. We’re human, so perfection just isn’t possible. At some point, our companies will drop the ball. What separates successful from unsuccessful companies, is what happens next. While these steps may seem intuitive to you, the key is for them to become second nature to your team.
- Communicate: There is no worse response to knowing you messed up than being unresponsive, even for a few hours. Whatever channel your customer has chosen to complain, use the same one to respond. If it’s a negative review on social media, let them know that you’d like to have a conversation with them and assure them that you’ll make it right. When they complain online, your prospects are watching.
- Ask Questions: Understanding the root cause of their concern is key and will help them to feel heard. Basically, it shows you care. When asking questions, avoid starting with “why”. According to former FBI hostage negotiator Chris Voss, author of “Never Split The Difference”, the word “why” triggers an emotional response that makes us think back to when we were kids and did something wrong. “Why did you do that?” reminds us of that uncomfortable feeling of having knocked something over. Instead try something like, “What is it about the way we worked together that upset you?”.
- Show Empathy: This may sound like a Mars vs. Venus thing, but sometimes I just want you to acknowledge that whatever situation I have had to ensure sucks. Recognize that you have inconvenienced me and I’ll meet you halfway on what you recommend to fix it.
- Focus on what you CAN do: There is probably nothing more annoying than listening to an employee tell you their company’s rules. That is the least helpful information they can provide to make an angry customer feel better, since it feels like they are placing blame on the customer for feeling upset. Your employee may not have the entire solution, but they’ll gain brownie points by showing they’re trying.
In the book “Excellence Wins”, by Horst Schulze, former CEO of Ritz Carlton (a book I highly recommend by the way), he discusses two key tenets of outstanding customer service:
- Train specifically. Make sure you have your service standards written down because it’s not enough to simply tell people to deliver great service.
- Empower your employees and trust them. And then inspire them to bring their A-Game.
Building a customer service culture is probably the single best investment you can make in growing your business. Think for a moment about the size your business would be today if you had never lost a customer.
And it all begins with making it right.