Buy THE QBQ! WORKBOOK – Make Personal Accountability a Core Value!
Tara, #2 of seven Miller offspring—a mom with two kids of her own— watches for examples of the QBQ! book in the world. She just sent me this example of outstanding customer service, with succinct commentary:
“Dad, this is QBQ! all the way!”
The Story
Tara’s 3-year-old, our spunky and most chatty granddaughter, McKenna, attends “Tiny Tots and Tumblers” classes at Junior Olympics Gymnastics in Brighton, Colorado.
The owner, Jen Chase, sent all the parents this email:
Hello, Friday morning gymnastics families!
It was brought to my attention that participants in our morning class were not properly notified about a schedule change. I want to send my sincere apologies for this miscommunication! There have been a couple late starts due to our mistake, so a credit has been placed on your account for one free class that was applied to your November tuition.
Was this earth-shattering and life-changing? No. Most customer service problems and resolutions aren’t.
However, did Jen handle this perfectly?
You bet she did! Jen showed us what outstanding customer service is and how easily it can happen.
Outstanding Customer Service: Easy as 1-2-3!
1. ACKNOWLEDGE: What frustrates unhappy customers more than anything is when they have to convince the supplier that there is a problem. I’ve found myself in this position and each time I wonder why I am the one doing all the selling?!? Jen simply and responsibly acknowledged a problem existed. No denial there!
2. APOLOGIZE: I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again—the 2 1/2 most beautiful words are “I’m sorry.” In our book Outstanding! 47 Ways to Make Your Organization Exceptional, one of the 47 things outstanding people and their teams do is apologize. I’m often amazed when vendors acknowledge a problem AND fix the problem but never utter those humble and contrite words people love to hear.
3. AMEND: Jen fixed the problem. She provided a monetary credit that I’m positive many parents appreciated. I’m also positive nobody asked for one. However, by doing so—going that famous and rarely traveled extra mile—Jen chose to ensure the problem was really really resolved in the minds of her customers.
See how simple that was?
Being outstanding is as easy as 1-2-3:
Acknowledge. Apologize. Amend.
Do you have paying customers? If so, the next time you need to fix a customer problem, use our 1-2-3 formula. Those important people who give you money for products sold and services rendered will be glad you did.
You will be, too.
With our “1-2-3” formula in mind, share your best or worst service story!
Buy THE QBQ! WORKBOOK – Make Personal Accountability a Core Value!
5 Responses
Also, don’t forget to say ” Thank You” to your customers ! This simple statement seems to be missing in today’s world.
Totally! Thanks, Vicky!
About a month ago, my husband, Carlos and I stopped at Jason’s Deli on Airport Blvd. in Mobile, AL on our way home from shopping. We ordered our meal and Carlos had ordered a salad with his meal, so he visited the salad bar and was eating it while we waited for our order. Ms. Gabbard, the manager, was sitting in a booth behind us and I believe she may have been interviewing someone. Carlos had finished his salad and it crossed my mind that our food should have been delivered by now, but we weren’t in a hurry so I thought I would wait a few more minutes before I checked on it. About that time, Ms. Gabbard came to the table and asked if we had gotten everything. I told her we were waiting on our sandwiches. She immediately said she would check on it. She went to the food prep area and came back a few minutes later. She told us that our order had processed as they were changing the paper in the printer, and it hadn’t printed. She immediately reprinted the order and had the kitchen preparing our order. Not only did she apologize, but she also went in the system and voided our payment and gave it to us on the house. I told her that wasn’t necessary that we weren’t in a rush. But, she said yes it was necessary. Our food was then delivered promptly. I now tell everyone about the exceptional customer service at Jason’s Deli.
Debbie, great story! Thanks for sharing it!
John well said. These are the 3 most important aspects of customer service. There is a #4 that I like to add after the Amend and that is Thank. We need to Thank the customer for their business and allowing us a second chance in trying to amend and satisfying them. Many a times customers take their business elsewhere if not handled correctly. A “Sorry” and a “Thank You” are two golden words that saves many a situation.