Why is it important to indulge in service recovery?
It certainly would make the difference between customers leaving the experience being annoyed, angry and disappointed with ill feelings verses leaving the scene delighted, satisfied and remaining loyal.
Our goal is to drown the customer's bad experience with a surfacing great experience.
One thing for certain is that it decreases risk to the organization and it would definitely make our lives so much easier, even in the long run.
It lets us know that we can better meet the customer expectations and needs and that we can make a positive impact on the lives of our customers. As John Maxwell the American author and motivational speaker would word it as "People do not care how much you know until they know how much you care."
Service recovery is everyone's responsibility and it is all about handling customers concerns immediately and effectively when a customer perceives that we did not meet their expectations.
On a flip side always treat the customers' complaints as valuable feedback to sharpen your sword in service recovery.
Remember if you do not have the ability, the resources or the access to act on a complaint then please find someone who can act and make the connection. Sometimes it is not only what you know and also who you know.
The customers only have to complain once.
Great to adopt an idea we can R.E.L.A.T.E to. First we could (R) ecognize the issues and concerns faced by the customer. Showing (E)mpathy and (L)istening to the customers. (A)pologise for their inconvenience and acknowledge the experience they are facing. (T)olerate their temperament and thank the customer. (E)xplain the actions that you would be taking to rectify the situation.
Recognize their concerns and feelings. Look out for non-verbal cues that may indicate dissatisfaction and suggested words that could be possibly used such as "You seemed to be upset about something" or "I sense your concern".
Empathize and try to put yourself in their shoes and see it from their view point. Adopt empathetic body language, ask empathetic questions and have empathetic responses
Listen and stay calm and relaxed. We have to be extremely composed and do not be a participant in the emotional experience.
Look out for non-verbal cues that may indicate dissatisfaction.
Good to acknowledge and validate the customers feelings like "I can hear how upset you are about this" and "I can understand why you feel the way that you do".
Apologise without blaming others as you point one finger, three points right back at you. Suggested words could be "I'm sorry that we did not meet your expectations" or "I am sorry that you are feeling upset. From what you have said I can understand why you feel the way you do". An apology is expected and encouraged. It is not an admission of guilt and be sincere. An apology acknowledges that something has gone wrong. It should be blameless. Saying that you are sorry does not equate to the fact that you are at fault. It does not matter who did what to whom or who caused something to happen. You would have sincerely wished that it not had happened.
Do use open gestures, be warm and sincere, us open body language, use more "I" statements and make eye contact, modulate your voice lower than theirs. Don't smile inappropriately, and be defensive or resort to arguments or sound robotic.
Tolerance is strength when it comes to service recovery. Remember to thank the customer. "Thank you for making us aware of your experience" and "Thank you for telling us how we can better serve you the next time round".
Be a problem solver "What can I do for you right now that would help resolve the situation or bring us closer to a possible solution" or "I sincerely want to help. Let us talk about some possible solutions for the concern that you are currently facing".
Be a problem solver.
It would be ideal to estimate the customer's expectations. In most instances, the customers just want to be heard or vent out their frustrations. An apology is all they are expecting or wanting.
Explain to your customer what you are going to do and please follow through what you said that you are going to do.
Respond back to the customer within the time promised
"I know this will not make up for what you have been through today, but please accept this with our sincere apology."
Activities
Employee Engagement
Find a partner and practice asking these following questions
What is the philosophy or principles for doing what you do?
What is the purpose of doing what you do?
What is the one special skill that you have allows you to do your work different from the rest?
As you are doing this activity observe the body language, the choice of words your partner uses and the tone of voice. Watch what he/she says and how they say it. Observing the tone of voice. Once you have asked these questions, switch roles and allow being interviewed.
Service Recovery
Find a partner and practice asking these following questions, but this time with a more aggressive mannerism
If you feel the situation need an approach to help you better handle the situation, use a triple A approach
1)Acknowledge the situation by giving your partners the 1st importance
2)Assess by asking more descriptive questions such as who,why,when,where and how
3)Alternatives to be suggested to allow quick and impromptu thinking
Checklist: How good are you at engaging people?
Checklist
| Checklist | I’m Good | Need to get better |
| Good Eye contact | ||
| Pace my questions well | ||
| Have sufficient pauses in my conversation | ||
| Was confident asking the question | ||
| Fluent with the flow of question | ||
| Able to handle challenging situation questions | ||
| Use appropriate tone of voice |
Multimedia Resources
Video on Public Speaking