Service Recovery Done Right
March 10, 2010
As I’m writing this, I’m on my way home from speaking at a conference in Colorado Springs. It was held at the Broadmoor Hotel, which is a fantastic property with great service from everyone from the front desk clerks to the hotel operator.
So last night, when I was finished with the program, I decided to treat myself to a nice dinner, figuring that it would be a great experience. And since I had to be on a 4:30 a.m. shuttle to the airport, I really wasn’t up for a late night with a lot of people.
I made a reservation at the Charles Court restaurant for 6:00 p.m. and was seated at a nice table with a view of the lake. The waitress came to the table, greeted me by name and described the evening’s specials, including a grouper dish that sounded great. As it turns, out, I really like grouper – when it’s cooked right, it just kind of flakes apart when you take a fork to it.
Well, that one had my name on it, so that’s what I ordered. And when the dish came out, it looked great. Unfortunately, there was a problem: the grouper was tough and chewy: it had been overcooked.
So when the waitress stopped by to make sure everything was fine, I mentioned this to her. Without missing a beat, she apologized, and offered to bring me something else or have the chef prepare another order of grouper. I asked her to bring the menu so I could take a look, and decided on something else.
When she came back, she apologized again, and told me that she had spoken to the chef and he agreed – it had been overcooked. She was actually a bit worked up about this herself, since she had just recommended it – and placed six orders for the grouper for another table she was working.
That would have been enough, but the restaurant manager came over to apologize himself, confirmed that, or course there would be no charge for the grouper, and all but insisted I have dessert on the house.
Even at a first-class hotel like this, there will be occasional missteps – because of the sheer size of the place it’s unavoidable. And it’s probably the same at your company. Problems are going to happen.
But if you address them quickly and definitively, you can build a level of customer loyalty even greater than if nothing had gone wrong in the first place. Make sure you have “service recovery” procedures in place to handle these situations when they occur.
Comments
3 Responses to “Service Recovery Done Right”
Got something to say?
Ron, I saw you speak about a year ago and since then your insights on service continuously pop up when dealing w/ my clients. I was behind on getting a client’s wedding pictures to her. She was very gracious but it definitely was not what I intended and the exact opposite of how I wanted to represent my business. So, I offered her an additional 10% discount for which she placed a large order, which more than compensated. Her order came in and she called when I was on my way home but I told her I would turn around and deliver them to her doorstep. She didn’t want to impose but I insisted and even over the phone she sounded so revlieved that I would do it and incredibly grateful. I was glad I took those few extra minutes to show her great service b/c by the time I got to her house she was falling all over herself thanking me for taking the time and effort.
You’re spot on w/ this one. A few small gestures to make right a situation gone wrong was an easy way to keep this client coming back.
Hi Ron,
So sorry to hear that you’re grouper wasn’t cooked well. I’m glad to hear the staff turned things around for you. We look forward to welcoming you back!
Regards,
Ivy Canady
Food & Beverage Public Relations Manager
The Broadmoor
I also have seen you speak Ron and as always its a pleasure. Keep up the wonderful sessions.