We have all experienced substantial disappointment when a product, service, or experience did not come close to what was expected. I’m sure you can all tell a story about poor service from a restaurant, financial service institution, or call centre that let you down completely. No organisation intentionally aims to disappoint its customers and most organisations large or small, for-profit, or otherwise, that have managed to stand the test of time do a reasonable job of satisfying customer needs, wants, and expectations.
However, I do not believe many of these organisations are exceptional at customer recovery.
“Customer recovery is about turning an unhappy customer into a brand ambassador.”
What many organisations fail to recognise is that it’s not only about exchanging the defective product or refunding the customer. Even saying sorry for disappointing a customer is often not enough.
We have all complained or returned something. The response or exchange is almost always guided by the organisation's policy and the experience, at best, is transactional and courteous. This is not enough to use the opportunity to create a brand ambassador. Going the extra mile does!
This means surprising the customer with something more than the policy-guided response.
Let me share a recent personal example. My wife and I decided to redecorate our living area as we wanted it to be both special and functional. We decided to appoint an interior decorator to oversee the entire process. We appointed someone who my wife had extensively researched and, in her view, had a great track record, was affordable, and aligned with our style to deliver the turnkey project.
We are fussy customers and took the opportunity to change our minds, but we eventually reached an agreement, and the transformation was eventually done to our satisfaction. We were very happy customers.
Time passed and my wife started to have concerns about the L-couch. The cushions were not holding shape and the ‘lines’ were starting to not line up accurately. Visitors never noticed anything, but to us this was an issue – especially as this was our L-couch for probably the next 20 years!
We called the interior decorator and, after a long conversation, agreed to pay an additional R4000 to get the L-couch altered to our expectations. We were happy to pay the extra cost (as it was partly our fault) as our specifications were not clear at the beginning. What the interior decorator did not know was, regardless of our possible role in the problem, we had lost confidence in her and decided not to recommend her to any of our colleagues, friends, or family. Nothing was ever said, but I guess the interior decorator was smart enough to realise this…
The L-couch was collected and returned in the agreed time, and it was perfect.
We then waited for the invoice. What a surprise when she only charged us 50% of what we agreed to pay. She had been smart enough to read the situation and turn us from simply customers to brand ambassadors!
When discussing this principle with Chartall Business College Bachelor of Business Administration Degree students I find that they often look for the quick fix formula. Unfortunately, there isn’t one. Each incident is unique and calls for a unique response. Client-engaging staff need to be able to use their judgement and innovation to deal with each situation in the best possible way. This can become a huge challenge as it calls on the manager to truly trust staff.
There are no simple answers to this, but I do know there are smart organisations that are starting to get this right. And the stories their newly won brand ambassadors are telling is rapidly setting them apart from the competition.
About Chartall Business College:
Chartall Business College is an innovative and modern Private Higher Education Provider, and our vision is to empower working adults through relevant, career-focused programmes. We are a high-tech and high-touch institution who takes pride in our personalised student engagement. Chartall Business College is committed to contributing to individual student’s lifelong learning journeys through focused career counselling, applicable work integrated learning and practical application of relevant theory. Our mission is to create accessible and meaningful learning experiences that are cost-effective, multi-modal and flexible.
