We all want to give our customers the very best service. Unfortunately, Murphy is lurking in the shadows to ensure that whatever can go wrong will go wrong. And Murphy was an optimist! So despite our best effort things will go wrong and a customer will experience bad or horrible service from our company.
When it happens your job is to recover from the setback and to then ensure it never happens again despite Murphy’s best efforts. To recover follow the LEAD Model:
- Listen
- Empathize
- Apologize
- Do
Listen ‘ to the client concern. Ask questions to clarify the situation. Listen for both facts and feelings.
Empathize ‘ put yourself in their shoes. Respond to what they have told you by feeding it back to them. “I can understand your frustration with the way we handled this situation.”But don’t continue with a “but”!
Apologize ‘ take responsibility for the situation. Never make excuses for yourself or others.
Do ‘ ask, “What would be the perfect resolve for you?”Do what you can and do it as quickly as possible. Give them feed back to let them know you acted on it.
Remember to remain positive and thank the client for bringing this to your attention. After all they could have just tiptoed away to one of your competitors and you would have learnt nothing.
How have you recovered from a customer service snafu?
