EMBARRASSMENT and HUMILIATION!... two of the most difficult emotions. No wonder when front line staff face a complaint they want to run a mile. We human beings, and especially those in hospitality, are mostly service oriented and driven to give customers a great experience; we are generally proud of our services and precious about our reputations. We don’t like to be shown up for mistakes and embarrassed.
When something goes wrong our egos and pride are threatened. Sociologists will tell us that the usual responses to such challenges are “fight” or “flight”…argue or run away. These are our instinctive responses to a complaint, and while understandable, BOTH ARE WRONG IN BUSINESS.
Ignoring the complaint – “flight”
One’s instinctive reaction to a complaint is often to avoid the problem, pretend it’s not there, leave the scene or just plain ignore it. While this may help avoid embarrassment, it is sure to lose not only the business at hand, but also all the future business from the “complainant”. Customer service research claims that the typical unhappy customer tells an average of 13 people of their unhappy experience.
Another typical mistake is to believe that by allowing a customer to air a complaint you are encouraging it and it is better to push it away or ignore it. This thinking is also not correct.
Unresolved issues tend to fester, strengthen and often lead to even more extreme responses which become much harder to deal with. In my experience I have found that one problem is generally overlooked by the customer; a second, if not too major, may also be forgiven…but after that, the customer is now fully focussed on problems and actively goes looking for and will find loads of problems, to justify their perceptions that “they are right and the organisation is faulty”.
Arguing with the customer – “fight”
Not a good idea. Sure you do want to get all the facts and, if possible, correct any misunderstanding, but the last thing you need is an argument, for you will surely make matters worse. And even if you are right and “win”, by definition, the customer “loses” and this is not a good way to keep a customer.
What you should do
1. Act swiftly - the sooner you deal with a complaint the better. Don’t allow it to fester and strengthen.
2. Steel yourself - collect your inner resources and courage and “face the music”.
3. Collect all the facts – ensure staff give you the truth, hard as it may be, or else you will embarrass yourself further.
4. Approach the customer in a professional and straightforward manner.
5. Remember, your first task is to give the customer “satisfaction” in their distress. They want acknowledgement of their complaint. This means you need to be a good listener. Give customers full opportunity to express all their feelings and complaints without allowing yourself to get caught up in their emotion. Repeat your understanding of the problem back to them so they feel understood and will respond to their complaint.
6. Offer a generous solution, eg. “Please come back for another meal with our compliments”. The cost to you is small; the value to them is high. A complimentary meal keeps them returning.
7. Look for the opportunity - an extreme or generous response can actually strengthen your position, as will be indicated in the cases below.
Two case studies of complaints that led to more business:
1. ZEST catered a “society” fund-raiser lunch for 96 women at an off-site venue. All went well except the dessert, made with ricotta, was starting to sour. We were unaware that an under-bench fridge had failed. I spoke to the organiser and halved the bill. With the host’s permission and cooperation I also personally telephoned all 96 guests over the following two days to apologise for embarrassing the host and mentioned halving the bill for the charity. That action directly led to at least four new function bookings. To this day, many years later, I am still approached by guests from that event, reminding me of the incident and how impressed everyone was with the response.
2. Recently, through a computer error, a double booking was made for a wedding reception at the Royal Motor Yacht Club on a peak Saturday night. This is a venue manager’s nightmare. Being unable to juggle or change either event I called in the later booking party to discuss the problem. They were rightly furious and threatened legal action and to “drag my name through the mud” etc, etc. I remained calm, allowed them to express their anger and empathised, apologised, refunded their deposit and offered to “not rest until I find you another equivalent [there is no better!] venue”. I spent two full days phoning and inspecting venues until I located an excellent alternative at far greater cost, which ZEST carried. They were happy with the result and our relationship is not only intact but improved, as last week they referred another wedding to our venue.
And the moral of the story
Complaints are not all bad. They are tough to deal with. Don’t fight, don’t hide. Face up to them and look for an opportunity to really show your service and shine. You might just come out ahead!
Raphael Khan can be contacted on (02) 9327 3441 on
email events@zest.net.au or by visiting www.zest.net.au.
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