When bad things happen to good customers

55rT!HESE are supposed to be I. blackl I've sot to install these today."

Jake Andrews was a good customer. The kind who is loyal and fair and understanding. But, understanding has its limits when your customer's customer hasn't any.

"Jake, I apologize," said Bruce. "I know the last thing you need when you're trying to finish a job is a problem, but we're going to fix it."

Another customer leaned into the conversation. "They've got those in black down at Brand X. Seen 'em there myself. You should have bought them there." He winked at Bruce.

"Just call me 'Mr. Helpful."'

"Appreciate it," said Bruce without a trace of resentment.

Jake looked at Bruce. "I buy everything here. You know that. I don't even have an account down there."

"But we do," Bruce replied.

"Huh!" Mr. Helpful chuckled. "Bet they'll charge you an arm and a leg, since you're a competitor."

Bruce pulled out his emergency list and called the competition to verify they had the parts. Then he radioed one of the drivers to pick up the material on the way back from deliveries. In less than 20 minutes, Jake Andrews was walking out the door with the material in his hands, thanking Bruce as he was leaving.

"Bet you wouldn't do that for me," said Mr. Helpful.

"Sure I would. Like I always say, 'Run towards a problem. Not away from it.' Do the same for anyone if we mess up." And with that, Bruce reached under the counter and pulled out a letter-sized piece of cardstock and handed it to the customer. At the top of the document he read:

What to Do When Things Go Wrons:

1. -Apologize - sincerely and without hesitation, regardless of who's to blame.

I Bruce apologized without restraint for the inconvenience to the customer.l

2. ne accountable - Take charge. Let the customer know it's your problem, not his.

IBruce didn't go into defense mode, blame shifting, or excuse making. He owned

By Mike Dandridge

the problem.l

3. tr'it ttre problem - Do whatever you have to do to correct the error.

[Bruce responded by getting on the phone at once to find the needed parts.l

4. Ha"e a resource in reserveApply where needed.

IBruce kept a one-sheet directory with telephone numbers of every wholesaler and home center in his county.l

5. Manage the customer's memory - by minimizing the customer's financial, emotional, and physical inconvenience.

IBruce made the phone call , arranged to have the material picked up, and sold the receptlcles for the quoted price, though they cost much more.l

6. Follorn up - with the customer within 24 hours to see if he is satisfied with the solution.

[Bruce called Jake the next day to see how things worked out. Jake gave him another order over the phone.l

7. Evaluate - Learn from this. Determine how to avoid similar problems in the future.

[Bruce later traced the order from the entry point to the delivery to see where the mistake occurued.l

Mr. Helpful looked up from reading the document and handed it back to Bruce.

"I knew Jake bought everything here, because I never saw him at any of your competitors. I always thought he was crazy putting all his eggs in one basket like that. Now I'm not sure who the crazy one is."

Bruce smiled. "Don't ask me."

H"r"'t the flip-side. While I was checking out of a grocery store, the cashier came across an un-priced can of coffee. Of course she wanted to know if I'd noticed how much it cost. I hadn't. She eyed me suspiciously and sighed as if I were somehow to blame for the unmarked item. (You've been there, right?) Then across seven registers she shouted. to the floor manager, "Who priced coffee?" Across seven registers came the reply, "Lonnie!" She paged Lonnie in a voice I was sure would cause him to run and hide.

Meanwhile the line behind me con- tinued to grow. To fill in time while we were waiting for the guilty party, the cashier publicly berated Lonnie, then me for not looking at the price on the shelf, and finally the company for hiring Lonnie in the first place.

When something goes wrong, faulrfinding and excuses are the last thing your customers want to hear. Most of them don't really care who's to blame. They only want to know how you're going to fix it. That's when it's a good idea to have a plan. By having a blueprint for crisis resolution, you take away the urge to overreact to the problem and you lessen the stress, both for you and your customer.

Sooner or later, you're going to disappoint a customer. Inside every negative problem there is a positive solution. That's not a trite clich6. It's a statistical fact.

By going out of your way to fix a problem, you make the customer feel special, which in tum could generate positive word-of-mouth. Jake Andrews never tells the story about the receptacles being the wrong color without bragging about how the problem was resolved.

Feel free to copy Bruce's sevenstep plan for crisis resolution. He won't mind. Like he always says, "Run towards the problem. Not away from it."

- Mike Dandridge is founder of High Voltage Performance and author of The One Year Business Turnarotnd. Reach him at (251) 624-6299 or via www.highv o lta g ep e rforma nc e .c om.

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