Exceeding Customer Expectations—Step 3: Go Beyond When Things Go Wrong

One of the most critical times to exceed customer expectations is when things go wrong. Mistakes happen, and when they do, we've got to be prepared to handle them. This is where service recovery comes in. Service recovery is a planned response to an unexpected event. It's also recognizing a potential concern and being proactive to prevent or reduce the impact. To make things right, we should always act in a timely fashion with sincerity and fix the problem. It's important to avoid excuses and assessing blame. Simply say, "I'm sorry, and here's how we're going to fix it." Here's a great example of service recovery. A friend told me about a recent experience at a local restaurant. She went through the drive-through and ordered her favorite seasonal meal, a green goddess salad. If you know about a green goddess salad, you know that the dressing is why you order the salad, which is why my friend was incredibly disappointed when she got back to her office to find that the dressing wasn't included.

Frustrated, she decided to call the restaurant and share her experience. First, she was pleasantly surprised that she was able to talk with the manager right off the bat. She didn't have to leave a message and wait to be called back. The manager acknowledged the mistake and apologized without excuses. He offered a solution. He'd bring the dressing to wherever she was, and that's exactly what happened. The manager showed up at my friend's office with the dressing and a box of cookies for the office to enjoy. On top of that, he apologized again and wanting her to visit, he gave her a gift card. The lesson here is that a bad customer service experience can be turned around when handled in a timely and caring way.

We also know that when providing service, it can be difficult to tell our customers no. But we know that sometimes we're asked to do things outside of our scope or things that violate processes or procedures. Before you say no, make sure you understand what your customer really wants to achieve. It's also important to understand why you're saying no and clearly explain the rationale to the customer. As you're talking with your customer, be empathetic and offer alternatives, help the customer solve his or her problem.