I recently got the opportunity to contribute to another multi-contributor blog post on The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur: Make it Right for the Customer, looking at how to recover with your clients after a problem comes up. (I contributed #12.)
This is an issue that’s near and dear to my heart, actually. It’s certainly an issue that should be highly important to anybody who serves others and cares about their business (but oddly enough, it often doesn’t seem so).
While the goal is to avoid screw-ups–duh!–if you’re in business for more than a minute, there will be times when things go wrong. How you handle those slips can make or break your long-term success. It’s easy to be lovable when everything’s going smoothly, after all. But when processes break down and something goes awry, character displays and what you’re made of shows.
Why do so many companies make this so hard? You got me. I am not sure, but suspect sometimes businesses develop an adversarial stance with their customers, where they see each side as trying to get whatever they can out of the other. At least, that’s how it feels. Blech!
I use what I like to call the Golden Rule of Customer Service. It I were the customer, what would I want to happen? Oftentimes, the solution consists of a prompt and sincere apology, a credit on the bill, followup, and reviewing policies and procedures to make sure it isn’t a repeated issue. As a customer, I want to feel valued and respected. I don’t want to have to fight to have things made right. I expect my customers want much the same. So far, it seems like it’s been a good bet overall.
If you’re in the business of doing the absolute best work possible for your people, your people will usually be in the business of wanting to patronize and support the work you do. If you’re not on the same side, if it’s not win-win, then the business and client are not a good fit and you shouldn’t be working together.
I’ve personally found that clients can be incredibly generous and understanding about problems when it’s clear you’re doing your best for them every day. I’ve also found that for pretty much every mistake I’ve made through the years I’ve been doing business, it’s far more upsetting to me to feel like I’ve let down my folks than the breech of service has seemed to be for them.
Matter of fact, last time I apologized for a mistake, I was told it “wasn’t that big of a deal.” I smiled wide and thought to myself, “I’m very glad it’s a much bigger deal to me than to you! That’s the way it should always be.” And it is.
photo credit: Steve Wampler
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