Okay, I wrote about service just recently, but I had another couple of incidents with it recently which brought it to mind again. The first one was at the grocery where, after going through the check-out, I noticed that I was overcharged for a melon I bought. I went to the Customer Service counter and pointed out the error. The manager there said “The cashier entered the wrong code” and walked off to the cashier. No “I’m sorry” and no explanation of what she (the manager) was going to do about it–just an excuse and disappearance. It turns out she was getting me the money owed, but I had no way of knowing that.
That’s bad service. Customers do not care how the error was made, they only want it acknowledged and corrected. The “how” of it is an internal thing–in this case the manager should take it up with the cashier AFTER she has dealt with the wronged customer. The manager should have said, “I’m sorry, let me comp that melon for you” or “I’m sorry, let me get you the difference in cash” and nothing about how the error was made.
When your business makes an error, and it will some day because it is run by a human and we all screw up from time to time, admit it fully and offer to make some sort of ammends for it. Do NOT explain the error or rationalize it. Telling a client that the image file was ruined because of a power outage does not get that client the image. Sure, it wasn’t your fault, per se, but it happened on your watch and you should grit your teeth and offer to reshoot at your expense. Not only will your client forgive your “mistake,” s/he will remember how well you handled it and probably use you again because of your integrity.
Another real-life example…I went mattress shopping over the weekend. Mattress salesmen rank pretty close to lawyers and used car salesmen in honesty and respectability in most folks’ minds. The man who was working with me had a nice-if-salesmanish manner, answered my questions, and gave me plenty of time to lie on mattress after mattress and take notes. He left me alone for the lying down part and during one lie-down a couple walked in who had been in the day before. They were not happy with their bed as it had been put together. It seems that the bed, when constructed, was too high on their headboard. The salesman did not miss a beat before he said “I’m sorry, tell me more about the problem.” The wife described her issues and the salesman checked the records. He came back and said “We didn’t include a frame in the order did we–our frames are adjustable from 3-6 inches. If I send one, do you think that will fix the problem?” They said that it probably would, but how much would that cost? “Oh! No charge, of course–I should have thought of that possibility when I wrote up the order.”
More than anything else, how that salesman handled that problem ensured that not only will I most likely buy from him, that couple will tell all their friends about how great he and his company were. That’s good service, and good marketing.