Ten Customer Service Secrets to Win Back Customers

Ed Sykes.
Recently I was facilitating an Outstanding Customer Service
program and broke for lunch. Knowing that the restaurants
in the area had much to desire as far as service I gave the
students an extra fifteen minutes for lunch.
Sure enough a group of four students came rushing into the
classroom with their lunches in hand. They sincerely
apologized and quickly explained that they receive poor
service at a restaurant (This restaurant is part of a national
chain. Hint: its name references a day in the week. I can’t
give you the complete answer.). They went on to explain
that after the waiter initially took their order, they waited 45
minutes before their food finally arrived. During the wait, no
one came to check on them.
They went on to explain the food finally came and it was time
to leave for class. They were not happy. They asked to see
the restaurant manager. The manager sheepishly came to
see them and asked, “What was the problem?” One of my
students explained the situation to which the restaurant
manager replied, “The food ticket only shows you were
waiting for eleven minutes.” My students were not happy
and expressed it to which the manager asked them, “Would
you like dessert?” My students again expressed they were
not happy. Each time my students expressed their
unhappiness, the manager would say she was sorry. My
students weren’t buying it. The manager then left without
explaining where and what she was doing. The manager
returned and told my students that their meals were free.
Even though the manager gave them free meals my students
said they will never go back to that restaurant or any other
restaurant in that chain.
So why weren’t these customers happy? The restaurant had
an opportunity to turn a difficult customer service experience
into a winning situation for all and squandered it. Not only
will these patrons, my students, never go back to any
restaurant in that chain but how many other people will they
tell about their unhappy experience? The unhappy
customer, on average, will tell 27 other people about their
experience. With the use of the Internet, whether web pages
or e-mail, that number can increase in the thousands, if not
millions with the click of a button. However, according to
the Department of Consumer Affairs, 82-95% of unhappy
customers will come back if impressed and actually refer five
new customers.
Let’s take a look at the ten secrets that will not only win back
your customer in any situation, but have them referring new
customers, but will add more money to your bottom line
revenue.
1. Smile
Nothing can turn a hostile situation into position moment
faster than a sincere smile. A smile that says, “I want to help
you in a positive way.” It communicates you are positive
about the interaction with the customer. A sincere smile
enhances the communication process so that you can find
the solution faster.
2. Introduce Yourself as the Solution Creator
Make sure you introduce yourself, find out the customer’s
name, and let your customer know your position and why
you are there. This lets the customer know you are taking
responsibility to creating a solution for them. You might say
something like:
“Hello, my name is Mike. I am the manager at this location. I
am here to assist you in this situation, please tell me about
it.”
Notice I didn”t say, “What’s the problem?” By using
“What’s the problem?” you start the customer service
situation in a negative note. The customer is thinking
“You’re the problem, This establishment is the problem,
The whole world is the problem, etc. By starting your
conversation with I am here to assist you in this situation,
please tell me about it” you are setting up a “verbal
agreement” in the customer’s mind to move to a solution.
Note: If possible, please use the customer’s name
throughout the conversation.
3. Listen
Customers want tell their side of the story and feel like they
are only heard but you listened to them. Mentally take a
step back and dedicate yourself to actively listening to the
customer’s story with an open mind so that you can find a
solution. In the above situation, the manager stood silently
while my students were explaining their story. Be active in
your listening and create empathy (“put yourself in the
customer’s shoes”) with statements such as:
* “I can appreciate what you’re saying.”
* “I can understand how you’d feel that way.”
* “I can see how you’d be upset.”
* “It sounds as if we’ve caused you inconvenience.”
* “What I understand the situation to be…”
Please stay away communication that alienates the customer
such as:
* “I don’t know why you are so upset.”
* “That’s the first complaint we ever got on that.”
* “I know how you feel.” (Because you don’t)
* “Boy, you’re sure mad.”
In the above story, the students told the manager that they
weren’t happy with the service because they didn’t have
time to eat their meals. The manager, not listening, said,
“Would you like dessert?” The solution was not more food.
Listen for the solution!
4. Be Sorry for the Right Reasons
Be sincere in your concern for the customer and say sorry
the correct way. Many time in the heat of the customer
service situation we what to show some sign of concern so
we do the following:
* The first words of the interaction with the words, “I’m
sorry.” First, you didn’t find out any information from the
customer to be sorry.
* Say sorry throughout the conversation with saying what
you are sorry for. When saying you are sorry, say exactly
what you are sorry for.
The students, even though the manager kept repeating she
was sorry, didn’t think the manager was sincere in her
apology. The correct say to say you are sorry is:
* “I’m sorry you had to wait so long for your food.”
* “I’m sorry that you were treated that way.”
* “I’m sorry that our employee said that to you.”
* “I’m sorry this situation happened to you.”
Let the customer know exactly why you are sorry. The
students thought the manager’s “sorrys” were insincere
because she never mentioned why she was sorry.
5. Give Your Personal Assurance.
Let the customer know you will personally create a solution
for them. It could be as simple as saying, “I’m taking
personal responsibility for this.”
6. Ask Them What They Want
One of the fears that we have when trying to satisfy the
customer is that we think they want something out of our
reach. Ask the customer, “What would you like you to do?”
or “What would make this situation right for you?” You will
be surprised that in most cases the customer will ask for less
you were willing to give.
7. Use Statements of Conviction
Sure the following to gain the confidence of the customer:
* “We’re going to do something about that!”
* “We will make a change right now!”
8. Present a Clear Plan of Action
Make sure the customer knows what you are going to do to
correct the situation for them. 95% of making things right for
the customer is making them aware that you are taking action
to make a difference for them. Explain to them the actions
and timelines you need to take to make things right for them.
If you need to leave or make a telephone call to obtain
additional information, say:
* “Please excuse me while I make a telephone call obtain
the best solution for you. This will take five minutes, can
you please wait?”
* “Excuse me, I need to ask the person with the missing
piece of information so that we can quick resolve this for
you. Do you mind waiting five minutes?”
Note: Make sure you get back to the time customer before
the time you specified. If you promised ten minutes, get
back to the customer before ten minutes. Rule of thumb,
double the time it would normally that to get the information.
If you know it will take ten minutes to get the answer for the
customer then tell the customer you will get back to them
within twenty minutes.
9. Move Quickly to the Solution
If you applied steps 1-8 you are ready to give the customer
the solution they wanted for a win-win situation. You can
confirm this by saying the following:
* “Would this be agreeable for you?”
* “Is this the solution you were looking for?”
* “Will this make things right for you?”
10. Ask for the Business
If you did everything right this is the perfect time to ask the
customer to come back and do business with your
organization. You showed that you were professional,
caring, sincerely, positive, and proactive. Why wouldn’t
they do business with you again?
Some of the way you can say this is:
* “We would appreciate the opportunity to serve you in
the future.”
* “Please come back and I will personally guarantee you
receive outstanding service.”
* “Here is a 20% coupon. Please use it on your next visit
to our establishment.”
It’s important that you let the customer know that you
appreciate their business and want them to come back.
Remember, if you did everything right, not only will them
come back but they will other people to do business with
you. Use challenging customer service situations to build
your business.