Half way to my early morning meeting, and with just minutes to spare, I made the incredibly stupid decision to slip into the Starbucks drive-through lane for a quick cup of coffee. 15 long minutes, and 2 dozen ‘deep calming breaths’ later, I was desperately praying for the Suburban in front of me to get their order and get out of my way so I could get my coffee and race to my event.
Needless to say, when I finally pulled up to the service window, my stress was palpable and I fear I uttered a few not-too-kind words about that pesky Suburban driver. Imagine my surprise when the Barista, Ashley, responded with solace and a gift along with my eagerly awaited coffee. Instead of stark raving mad, I left that drive-through a raving fan.
What did she do? She followed a few classic recovery suggestions. Here are the steps she took that you can take too…
Step #1: Apologize and Acknowledge you goofed up. It’s amazing how the words “I’m sorry” can get everyone back on the right track. Begin with the admission that you did something wrong. Be careful not to say “I’m sorry you feel that way”. If you say that, you’re actually shifting the blame to them and away from yourself. Now is the time to suck it up and apologize. That’s what the sweet barista Ashley did for me, and she immediately calmed my ruffled feathers.
Step #2: Put your Listening Ears on and Ask open ended questions, Listen to the answers and then Empathize. Be careful you don’t jump straight to the fixing portion before you do this step. Everyone wants to feel heard, and when you take the time to ask and listen first, you’ll be able to move forward with little resistance. Ashley let me vent and she then calmly moved to step #3, showing me she understood my frustration.
Step #3: Fix the Problem. Stat! After listening, that’s when you want to jump in and fix it as quickly as possible. Address the specific issue and be as detailed as possible. Once you have fixed the problem, you should quickly move to Step #4 – which is what Ashley did…
Step #4: Offer Atonement. Even before Ashley gave me my coffee, she reached out and handed me a coupon for a free coffee of my choice anytime, anywhere. Wow! I didn’t expect that, but her swift gift (and tiny $5 cost max to the company) did a world of good. Although I was still late, I was mollified by her thoughtful gesture. Atonement shows you really care.
Step #5 Follow up. Although Ashley and Starbucks couldn’t do this, most of you can. After you’ve fixed the problem, be sure to call and follow up in a timely (2-3 days) manner. Showing you care with this follow up phone call will, I promise, be unexpected and very appreciated. The extra good part of that phone call is that you’ll get to hear first hand how they are doing with the fix – and make sure they are ok.
Even the most conscientious people occasionally flub up and give poor customer service. Following this 5 step process will indeed compensate for falling short and convert your clients into Raving Fans.
Question: What exceptional customer service recovery have you received, or not? How did it leave you feeling about that company? Leave your stories below. I can’t wait to hear from you!