Last week, as a customer, I experienced two interesting examples of businesses having service malfunctions.
How each business handled the malfunctions was interesting.
In your business, how would you handle a malfunction that leaves your customer less than satisfied with your business?
You see, it is your business’s ability to provide excellence in its Service Recovery and the way your business seamlessly swings those necessary systems into action that defines your business as a business that cares unconditionally about your customers.
When you have excellence in your Service Recovery Systems, your customers may complain about the service defect that just happened, but they will be in awe at the way your business handles that defect through its service recovery processes.
The Restaurant.
Last week my wife and I were on a cruise, and one night we decided to dine in one of the “user pays” restaurants on board our ship.
This in itself is an interesting concept because with most meals being complimentary on-board a cruise ship you would expect that there would be an increase in attention to detail in a “pay as you go” restaurant.
So in this restaurant my wife and I both ordered the same meals for starters and for main course meals. [Which is not as odd as it sounds since we both choose to not eat certain foods for health reasons].
So, when our main meals arrive, I see that my wife’s cod appeared to be twice the thickness of mine.
Mine was cooked fine, but my wife’s fish had not been cooked through and was underdone in the middle. So she returned the dish.
I kept eating my dish, and in fact finished my dish in the time that it took the chef to cook my wife a replacement meal. During this time, our waiter asked my wife whether she would care for a second glass of wine.
At the end of the meal, when our bill arrived, there was no concession made for the service defect that had occurred. We signed for the bill and left.
On the way out one of the ship’s officers asked us about our meal and the second serving.
We told him of our disappointment in the lack of service recovery, and that we had indeed been billed for the second glass of wine [that my wife drank] as she waited for her fish dish to be replaced.
The ship’s officer said that he would attend to the bill.
The Gardeners.
I have an established garden at my home.
We have lived there for fifteen years and the garden was built during our first year.
It is now a very beautiful garden.
We’ve always paid professionals to look after our garden, because professionals do a better job of it than I ever would.
I know this because with the garden of the home next door to mine, the first owner there did all his own gardening, whereas the current owner there now has paid help. And you can see the difference with professional help.
But you don’t need to beat that opinion into my head with a baseball bat. You don’t need to be Einstein to figure that one out…
[By the way, it’s much like running a business. Professional help with the running of your business makes a lot more sense than doing a half-baked job of it on your own.]
So anyway, on one side of my back garden I have a very tall hedge of Leightons green. If you know this species, you know it makes a great traditional English-style hedge.
But it grows quickly.
Ours is now so tall that it needs scaffolding to trim the top.
Our regular gardeners have been doing our gardens for over a year now after the company purchased the garden maintenance from our previous gardeners. They do a really great job.
So here’s what happened. They hire in a couple of hedge trimming people to come and do our Leightons green. Out comes the scaffolding, but the motorised hedge trimming tools don’t want to start up for a couple of hours for some reason.
To cut a long story short, the end result is that our hedge top gets trimmed quite poorly and there are petrol stains from their motors left on our pavers.
I call our regular supervisor and let him know of our disappointment, which he then passes on to the owner of the company.
When the bill for our service arrived via email last week, I call the owner of the garden maintenance firm to question the fee, considering our dissatisfaction with the result that we had ended up with.
He apologises and says that the bill is incorrect and that we should never have received it. He apologises and says he will forward an amended invoice.
The amended invoice arrives via email and when I open the email the invoice is identical to the first.
Except for the fee.
And the new fee is $0.00
Well we never expected that!
The email with the invoice read simply:
“Hi David,
Please find attached the amended invoice for garden maintenance at your home on 5/10/17.
Due to the lack of service provided for this visit we have decided to remove all associated cost for the visit on 5/10/17. With this it is our hope that we have a long working relationship into the future.
If you have any further questions, please let me know.
Regards
Phil.”
Does Phil now have a customer for life?
You bet he does.
We never expected a zero fee for this service.
The original invoice was substantial, as was the challenge of the tall Leighton’s green hedge.
We expected to pay something, so this concession by Phil was very generous.
What does this all mean?
If you want to keep a customer, you need to exceed their expectations.
When things go wrong, you need to be able to swing your service recovery systems into action seamlessly.
We never expected a free meal that night on the ship.
What we did expect was some recognition of the fact that they had fallen short of what a customer would expect.
Memorable service recovery is just as important in your business as the processes of service in the first place.
Make sure that your business understands where service defects can arise, and that you have the necessary Service Recovery systems set up to WOW your customers when a defect needs rectifying.
*****
My next public speaking presentation showing Dentists how to grow their Dental practices will be at a Symposium on growing your Dental Practice in 2018 in Sydney Australia on Saturday December 2 2017 with leading experts Kinnar Shah, Angus Pryor, Jayne Bandy and Toni Surace .
The Ultimate Patient Experience is a simple to build complete Customer Service system in itself that I developed that allowed me to create an extraordinary dental office in an ordinary Sydney suburb. If you’d like to know more, ask me about my free special report.
Did you like this blog article? If you did then hit the share buttons below and share it with your friends and colleagues. Share it via email, Facebook and twitter!!
I scan it every time I pick up groceries and at some point in the future Woolworths rewards me with a $10.00 credit on my purchase when I have accrued sufficient reward points.
But the card does more. It also profiles me. Because it registers my purchases, it allows Woolworths to suggest sale bonuses on items that I have previously purchased.
And sometimes Woolworths suggests increased rewards to me if I were to spend a certain amount by a certain date…. you get the idea?
They, Woolworths, are trying to encourage me to spend a little more with them than I normally do. And they are incentivizing me with a carrot ahead of time of course.
But these incentives are not random.
They are targeted specifically to me based on my spending patterns, and are an attempt to nudge me to spend a little more to receive a “perceived” benefit.
And make Woolworths look like the good guy.
Here is what they do…
Woolworths will email me these benefits ahead of time.
And most of the time I simply click on the link in the email to immediately activate the opportunity to maybe benefit from the offer.
Which is in itself quite cunning….
Because the reward that they offer could alternatively be really a “just because” reward?
I mean, why couldn’t Woolworths simply send me a reward and say:
“For no reason, thanks for being such a loyal customer. We really appreciate you. Here’s an xxxx to show you how much we think of you. Have a great week!”
No. Retailers are more cunning and calculating than that…
Recently Woolworths emailed me a promotion that I thought was a really good offer.
Let me tell you about it.
The offer was that if I were to spend only $90.00 each week at Woolworths over the next four weeks, then Woolworths would thank me by GIVING me a new-fangled just released electrical appliance.
This looked like a really good deal.
Firstly, our household does spend more than $90.00 each week on groceries, so this wouldn’t be a difficult target to hit.
Secondly, we might have to travel a little out of our way to buy EVERYTHING each week at Woolworths, but heck, that’s a small inconvenience to us if they’re going to gift me this electrical device that I do not already own.
So here is what happened:
After one week, and two shopping trips, we passed the $90.00 target for the first week.
And so just to remind me and keep me focused, Woolworths send me a congratulatory email to let me know that I’d jumped through the first hoop.
However, having been away this week, I only have two days left to go make my ninety dollar purchase for the week.
And I have another week, the third week, starting in two days.
And then the fourth week starts a further seven days….and for that fourth week, I’m going to be overseas and relying on my adult children to go purchase their groceries from Woolworths.
It was starting to get a little bit too hard…
So here’s what I did
Firstly, I thought, how much does one of these devices actually cost to purchase?
I mean, is the benefit of owning one worth the effort of jumping through the Woolworths hoops?
I was surprised…..
The device retailed for $79.00.
That’s a reasonable gift for purchasing $360.00 of groceries.
Especially if you were going to be spending that much anyway on groceries…
But….
Then I reduced it down to the ridiculous.
$79.00 divided by four weeks was less than twenty dollars per week bonus for those four weeks.
And when I looked at what I needed to do over the next three weeks to secure this “gift”, I realised that I valued my time and the time needed to go out of my way to jump through the hoops at a lot more than $19.75 per week.
What does this all mean?
This whole gift thing from Woolworths was a contrived effort to purchase some greater customer loyalty.
But to me it was a plan with too many hoops.
Sure, there will be Woolworths customers who WILL indeed pick up one of these gifts by satisfying all the criteria.
But to me, it will be just as simple to pick up one of these devices when I’m out retail shopping one day. Or maybe even go online.
To me both of those scenarios will be a far better use of my time.
I wonder how many Woolworths customers liked the idea of this reward but gave up on it in the same way that I did?
Rewards need to be simple and achievable.
Do this and we give you that. Period.
Not, do this, and then this, and then this, and then this. And then maybe…
Too hard will be too hard.
A complicated bonus gift never given has got to be worth a way less than a simple bonus gift earned regularly.
If you are going to reward your loyal customers, then make the rewards simple and frequent.
If you are going to reward your loyal team members then make their rewards simple and achievable also.
Small simple acts of memorable.
Easy to do…
*****
My next public speaking presentation showing Dentists how to grow their Dental practices will be at a Symposium on growing your Dental Practice in 2018 in Sydney Australia on Saturday December 2 2017 with leading experts Kinnar Shah, Angus Pryor, Jayne Bandy and Toni Surace .
The Ultimate Patient Experience is a simple to build complete Customer Service system in itself that I developed that allowed me to create an extraordinary dental office in an ordinary Sydney suburb. If you’d like to know more, ask me about my free special report.
Did you like this blog article? If you did then hit the share buttons below and share it with your friends and colleagues. Share it via email, Facebook and twitter!!
Last year they posted their second highest profit on record. Only beaten by the previous year’s profit.
Last year the CEO collected a salary with bonuses of $24.5M.
And yet I still feel like they’re fisting me.
Here is why….
Where is the Wi-Fi?
When I’m in the USA I can get Wi-Fi on nearly every flight.
When I fly American Airlines or United Airlines across the Pacific I can get Wi-Fi.
But for some crazy reason the CEO Mr. Joyce doesn’t think this is a priority for Qantas?
He says that maybe if we are lucky we might have it by some time next year 2018? Really?
I’d rather they spend the money that they’re wasting on telling me how to vote in a plebiscite and on painting rainbows on getting me Wi-Fi while I’m on their planes.
And what about the limes?
With all that profit Qantas is making I can’t seem to get a lime in my gin at all* when flying Qantas.
Not in a lounge, not on a plane. Not in Business class. Not in First Class.
Sometimes I’ve resorted to bringing my own limes. But then there’ no knife on the plane that’s sharp enough to cut my precious limes.
Really Mr. Joyce?
Are limes so expensive?
Remember, you got paid $24.5M last year. Your company is posting its second biggest profit ever, and you can’t get me a lime?
So let me tell you about my last overseas trip.
Two weeks ago I had a two-day meeting in Atlanta. Tuesday and Wednesday.
I buy a business class ticket.
I leave Sydney on Monday.
With my return trip, because of timing and daylight savings, I’m due to depart Atlanta [fly out of Atlanta] at 550pm on Thursday, the day after my meeting ends.
I enquire, in Sydney [via email] the day that I leave…I ask through my travel agent, that if by chance my meeting finishes early on the Wednesday, could I possibly bring my journey forward twenty-four hours?
When I arrive in Atlanta, and before I find out whether or not my meeting is going to end early, my travel agent shares me the good news via email..
Cost of bringing my return journey forward 24 hours?
$400.00 transfer fee plus $2707.00 fare increase.
You’ve got to be kidding me?
So I decide I’ll sit out my extra 24 hours in Atlanta and wait.
My meeting does in fact finish early.
In reality, I could have booked ahead ages ago when I bought my travel, and come home 24 hours earlier.
But because I exercised caution, I got stuck in Atlanta for 24 hours.
But it gets better…. even the next day Thursday when I get to the Atlanta airport early, like way, way early, I can’t even bring my AA flight to DFW forward….
It’ a long, long, 24 hours.
So let me tell you about QF8 that Thursday night….
First of all, I know what I am telling you is a first world problem.
I know if I complain publicly, that’s what the rest of the world is going to think.
“First World Problem.”
They are all going to think “You poor old rich so and so!”
I know and understand that a first-class seat on an airline is the most expensive real estate on the planet.
But there are people willing to pay that freight for the comfort benefit.
Some pay with cash. And others pay with Frequent Flyer points.
That being said, those travelling there do need to be respected for making that choice, considering the price they have paid to be there.
And sure, I did not pay all up in dollars for my first-class ticket. I bought a business class seat and used points to upgrade.
But, and I mean BUT, the points needed to do this are significant…
So what went wrong in First Class David?
Well, it looked like my seat was in the twilight zone.
Not quite Siberia, but certainly I was ignored.
Last to get in flight drinks.
Last to have my meal order taken.
And last to be served my meal.
In fact, I was so last, they ran out of my chosen dish and I had to be served a salad from the menu of another part of the plane.
Can you believe it?
With only fourteen customers in the first class cabin they run out of one dish?
And not only that, the invisibility continued.
Twice, not once, but twice during my meal, my wine glass emptied.
Bone dry.
Completely.
Where was the service?
Twice I get asked the wrong things by cabin crew who had obviously been brought in from other cabins to help….. but really?
It sure looked to me that they were short staffed at the pointy end….
What does this all mean?
If you’re going to run a business and make a big profit and pay your CEO a ridiculous amount of money, then make sure your operations are not fisting the customers who pay for the big-ticket items.
Every customer likes to feel that a percentage of what they spend with a business is being re-invested back into the business to retain customers.
Having sufficient food and sufficient crew and fresh limes would go a long way to satisfying those customers who fork out the big bucks for a seat at the pointy end.
How is it in your business? Are your good and great customers always feeling your undying love for them?
Here is my point to Qantas…. don’t screw over you good customers and ask them for more money on outrageous fares while you are making huge profits and paying your CEO so much….
Imagine trying to move a dental appointment just 24 hours and being asked to hand over $3107.00 to do so?
It just isn’t correct when the left hand and the right hand are clapping out of sequence Mr. Joyce…
*****
My next public speaking presentation showing Dentists how to grow their Dental practices will be at a Symposium on growing your Dental Practice in 2018 in Sydney Australia on Saturday December 2 2017 with leading experts Kinnar Shah, Angus Pryor, Jayne Bandy and Toni Surace .
The Ultimate Patient Experience is a simple to build complete Customer Service system in itself that I developed that allowed me to create an extraordinary dental office in an ordinary Sydney suburb. If you’d like to know more, ask me about my free special report.
Did you like this blog article? If you did then hit the share buttons below and share it with your friends and colleagues. Share it via email, Facebook and twitter!!
I won’t say it is approaching quickly, but it will be here and upon us shortly.
And that means Test cricket.
The Ashes.
Australia vs England…. the old enemy.
Every summer I go to the Sydney Test match in January with my friend George. We sit in the Members area, and membership of the Sydney Cricket Ground does have its privileges.
But one of the things I find amusing about the members’ area is that most seats are free to be chosen on each day of each match.
Which means, that members have to line up outside the gate at a very early time and then when the gates open several hours before play actually begins they race inside to secure their seating.
George, who has been a member a long time and longer than me, has been doing this peculiar behaviour for ever…
So last summer I asked George about the small reserved seating sections that I had seen.
And George said,
“Well that costs extra”
And I said,
“How much extra?”
And George said,
“I think about $25.00 per day”
And I asked,
“Why are we not doing that then?”
George looked at me….
Here is my point.
There is always a time when paying a little bit extra is worth the money.
If it means having a reserved seat at the cricket Test, then it’s worth it.
If it means getting seating closer to the stage for your favourite concert, then it is worth it.
If it costs a little extra for premium grade beef at your local steak house, then it’s worth it.
Is it worth an extra dollar to enjoy the premium label liquor rather than the house liquor?
Probably…
It is the same in business. The bigger advert costs more, but brings in way more customers.
An impressive facility attracts and facilitates more business.
The money spent on having properly trained employees is returned to your business on opportunities not lost.
Last week I attended an amateur golf event in Melbourne. It was obvious that the committee for this event who were not event organisers had called in some outside help.
And the week went off beautifully… the professionalism of the running of the event was palpable.
As consumers, some people spend a heck of a lot of time and money watching fuel prices to save a few pennies.
And yet, sometimes drivers will line up for twenty minutes or more to save four cents per litre on petrol [gas]?
That’s valuing your time at between six and nine dollars per hour?
Really?
Sometimes they blow the few dollars they save on the petrol on chocolates and soft drinks [candy and sodas]?
The memories you will have from enjoying an event from the premium seats rather than from the nose-bleed section are priceless.
We’re all going to end up in the same place eventually. That’s a fact.
It’s the journey that makes the difference.
There is no point being miserable along the way unnecessarily…
Most times the extra cost IS worth it.
*****
My next public speaking presentation showing Dentists how to grow their Dental practices will be in Dallas Texas on Friday November 3 2017 with Jayne Bandy.
I will also be presenting at a Symposium on growing your Dental Practice in 2018 in Sydney Australia on Saturday December 2 2017 with leading experts Kinnar Shah, Angus Pryor, Jayne Bandy and Toni Surace .
The Ultimate Patient Experience is a simple to build complete Customer Service system in itself that I developed that allowed me to create an extraordinary dental office in an ordinary Sydney suburb. If you’d like to know more, ask me about my free special report.
Did you like this blog article? If you did then hit the share buttons below and share it with your friends and colleagues. Share it via email, Facebook and twitter!!
