How to Avoid a Breakdown This National Workaholics Day.

Thursday (5th July) is National Workaholics Day. The definition of a workaholic is a person who compulsively works hard and long hours, according to encyclopedia.com. As devoted as the worker is, it can cause many problems such as some forms of stress, putting work before hobbies and exercise, and working so much it takes a toll on your health.

When your business’s customer service efforts break down, it can start a landslide of consequences ranging from clients canceling contracts to incessant phone calls asking for refunds. Your customer service staff and management may rally to stem the tide of complaints, but if their efforts are ineffective, it wears on employee morale.

Unavoidable Scenarios

Breakdowns in customer service are unavoidable. A flood forces you to miss a customer’s shipping deadline. A waiter drops the dessert on the eating customer. A phone system goes down. You’ve got to step in and make a bold statement to turn the breakdown around and restore your previously stellar image with your customers.

While service breakdowns are uncomfortable, they require training to resolve, which is actually a good thing. It could be that you find an opportunity hidden inside your company’s worst moments: the opportunity to bring a customer closer to you.

Using a breakdown to your advantage

So how do you handle service breakdowns so masterfully that they actually help you to create loyal customers? Train your employees to respond to each service failure with a specific recovery sequence:

1. Say sorry and ask for forgiveness: A personal, sincere apology other than the cliche script “I’m sorry if you feel that way.”

2. Review the complaint with your customer, by doing so you’re turning into your customer service consultants, letting them explain what’s gone wrong in the customer experience in the customer’s view and what you should do to fix it.

3. Fix then follow up on the problem: Either fix the issue in the next twenty minutes or follow up within twenty minutes to check on the customer and explain the progress you have made. Follow up after fixing things as well, to show continuing concern and appreciation.

4. Document the problem in detail to allow you to permanently fix the defect by identifying trends.

Final Thought

Different kinds of customers require different approaches to handling their complaints. Discern what each client needs to be satisfied before trying to come up with a one-size-fits-all solution. For example, you may just need to exhibit extraordinary patience with a chronic complainer or come up with an immediate solution for your high rollers. Listen closely to your customers and they will guide you to come up with the most successful response.

Whether you call them customers, guests, patients, patrons, riders, fans or clients, BARE International India can create a program to measure their experience interacting with your brand. Every 2 minutes, a BARE evaluation or audit is completed by our field force of more than 500,000 evaluators. Using calls, clicks or in-person visits, the common thread of our services is always revealing the moment of truth when your customers interact with your brand.

Let BARE International reveal the true nature of your business. Contact us today for a complimentary evaluation today.