{"id":47802,"date":"2023-03-08T14:11:24","date_gmt":"2023-03-08T14:11:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hyken.com\/?p=47802"},"modified":"2023-08-21T18:44:37","modified_gmt":"2023-08-21T18:44:37","slug":"complaints-and-problems-are-opportunities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hyken.com\/customer-service-strategies\/complaints-and-problems-are-opportunities\/","title":{"rendered":"Complaints and Problems Are Opportunities to Show How Good You Are"},"content":{"rendered":"\"FiveI love hearing about complaints and problems that are solved to the point that the customer wants to tell the world about the experience. That\u2019s exactly what happened to Bill Paretti, one of our faithful <\/span>Shepard Letter<\/span><\/i><\/a> subscribers. He was so excited about what happened that he shared it with me, hoping I would share it with you. Here\u2019s the short version of the story, followed by my commentary and the lesson we can take away from his experience.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nBill and his wife went to Cancun on vacation and stayed at the LeBlanc Spa Resort. This an \u201call-inclusive\u201d resort where everything is included in the daily rate.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nEvery Wednesday, the resort has a \u201cSeafood Market\u201d lunch where they grill fresh seafood for the guests. Bill and his wife were at the end of the line, and by the time they made it to the front, they were disappointed that most of the fish was gone.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nThe server sensed their disappointment, and this is where the story gets good. First, the server apologized. He empathized and sympathized with Bill and his wife\u2019s disappointment, and he immediately offered a solution. First, he gave them menus to order lunch. Then, he offered to set up a private Seafood Market experience the next day, just for Bill and his wife.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nThe next day, they had an amazing lunch. In Bill\u2019s words, \u201cHe personally brought a magnificent wooden tray of fresh grilled fish, shrimp, clams, mussels and vegetables that would have easily fed eight people!\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nThe big lesson here is that the server, without knowing, followed my five-step process for resolving problems and complaints. I\u2019ve covered this before, but it\u2019s worth using this story to remind us of how simple and effective it is.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n

Five Steps to Handling Complaints and Problems<\/h3>\r\n
    \r\n \t
  1. Apologize: That\u2019s the first thing the server did.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t
  2. Acknowledge: The server acknowledged their disappointment. That shows you\u2019re in sync with the customer.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t
  3. Fix the Problem: The server offered a great solution. The first part of that solution was to order lunch off the menu. The follow-up was to personally deliver a \u201cSeafood Market\u201d experience the next day.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t
  4. An Attitude of Ownership: The server didn\u2019t blame the chef for not cooking enough food. Instead, he \u201cowned\u201d the opportunity to resolve the issue.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t
  5. Act with Urgency: It\u2019s not about when the problem was ultimately resolved, it\u2019s how fast you respond to fix the problem. One way to impress a customer when there is a problem or complaint is to act with speed and urgency.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\nThis five-step process works for small and big problems. Think about a time when you complained or had a problem and it was resolved to your satisfaction, if not even more so. If you break it down, you\u2019ll likely find the experience includes these five steps.\u202f\u202f\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n