Service Recovery

A customer complaint is an opportunity to win back a loyal customer. Many people are more likely to stay with a business, and refer them to others, if their complaints are handled well. Service recovery situations are golden opportunities to build your loyal customer base.

Thumbnail image for Caribou Coffee Fails at Customer Service Recovery

Caribou Coffee Fails at Customer Service Recovery

September 12, 2011

None of us are perfect. Neither is any business. The good news is most customers don’t expect the people they do business with to be perfect. But as customers we do expect businesses to fix things when they go wrong. One of my favorite coffee places provides a current example. It was a beautiful late [...]

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T-Mobile floors loyal customer with amazing service recovery

October 11, 2010

Earlier this year I had a lengthy interaction with my mobile phone company. After too many conversations I finally got the best price I could on a new phone. I was pleased! But my pleasure didn’t last long. Because there was one, tiny little problem. My new phone sucked. Sorry for the course language but [...]

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Forget labels

May 14, 2010

Think about how we often describe our customers. We might label them as difficult, angry, rude, uninformed, arrogant, etc. (Sometimes we use terms like friendly, warm, engaging and so on.) On one level this seems useful. It might help us decide how to handle certain customers in specific situations. But labels can also cause problems. [...]

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How about 25% off your next order?

April 15, 2010

I admit I’m rather a demanding consumer. I’m pretty sure I get it from my mom. She’s one of the world’s all time greatest when it comes to being a demanding customer. And I think it’s good there are people like us around. No one else can offer businesses the quality of advice that their [...]

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5 Steps to turn complaints into loyal customers

February 23, 2010

Angry customers can seem like our worst nightmare. But, if you handle them right, they can be your company’s best friend. Because when you do listen to angry customers, you get a lot in return. Complaining customers often have valuable information about how you can improve your business. And, when you listen sincerely, you make [...]

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Always close the loop

February 4, 2010

Recently I submitted a help ticket to a company about a problem with their product. It was not a critical issue but one that needed fixing. After reviewing the issue they marked it as “resolved”. But they never told me it was resolved. And they didn’t tell me how to apply the fix. So, from [...]

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Don’t always tell your customers the truth

January 20, 2010

In the business of customer service training and improvement, we talk about being honest and open with our customers. This is important. It builds trust and improves communications with our customers.

But sometimes people take honesty too far. Sometimes it does more harm than good. Recently, Paul Simon (one of my readers) shared some glaring examples of this…

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Better customer service means staying in the game

December 23, 2009

Too often when a company (or person) fails at customer service, they run from the failure. They never return to the “scene of the crime”. I understand why. Most of us would rather move on to future successes than be reminded of past failures. But the best customer service companies take their failures head on. [...]

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Don’t justify your policies from your perspective

November 12, 2009

Every now and then you’ll have a customer who disagrees with one of your policies. No matter what the policy is, don’t justify or defend it from your company’s point of view.

For example, maybe your service department has a fee for inspecting the products you sell. And unless it’s covered by warranty, the customer has to pay the inspection fee. If the customer balks at the fee, don’t justify the fee by saying…

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Customer Service Quote for November 5, 2009

November 5, 2009

“Every employee who deals with clients must have the authority to handle complaints.” -Carl Sewell Author of:  Customers For Life: How To Turn That One-Time Buyer Into a Lifetime Customer

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Never blame defend or explain (part 2)

October 6, 2009

Last week my wife and I had dinner at one our usual haunts. After giving some feedback to our server about one item I ordered that was less than satisfactory, I was dismayed at his response. He was very nice but he launched into a lengthy explanation of how the food was prepared. And then [...]

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More advice on how to handle customer complaints

October 1, 2009

A persistently popular topic is how to handle customer complaints. We hate to get complaints but we know we need them. They are super-fuel for our businesses because they tell us what our customers want from us. Remember, complaints are just feedback, nothing more. And feedback is golden.

So here is a new piece I’ve written on how to handle complaints. I wrote it for the Examiner.com, since

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How to resolve a customer complaint

September 10, 2009

Here is your Daily Dose of Amazing Service: Fix a customer complaint by asking the customer what they want. Then do a little more. And here are some additional thoughts on this topic… Too many companies fail when it comes to fixing complaints. They either do nothing and hope nobody notices. Or they immediately go [...]

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Give customers your complete attention

August 21, 2009

Here is your Daily Dose of Amazing Service: Give customers your complete attention. And here are some additional thoughts on this topic… Customers consistently tell us they hate dealing with employees who don’t listen or pay attention. It’s a common and yet preventable complaint. When you begin talking with a customer, stop whatever else you [...]

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An apology can deliver better customer service

August 20, 2009

Here is your Daily Dose of Amazing Service: Apologize if the customer feels you or your company let them down. And here are some additional thoughts on this topic… An apology is a bridge-builder. It can mend a broken relationship faster than anything else. And it shows the customer you are willing to take responsibility [...]

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After a Complaint, Promise to Do Better

July 7, 2009

Here is your Daily Dose of Amazing Service: After a complaint, promise to do better. And here are some additional thoughts on this topic… A while ago I saw an interview of Dell’s Chief Information Officer. He was talking about some of the customer service problems Dell had been experiencing. While he answered many of [...]

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Customer Service Carnivale: June 22, 2009

June 22, 2009

Welcome to the June 22 edition of the Customer Service Carnivale. This week we have contributions from across the globe with ideas and suggestions to help you improve your customer service. We start with Shaun Sayers at Capable People. Shaun asks what has happened to great customer service as he shares some of his recent [...]

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