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Bad things happen to good people all the time. In customer service, we often have to interact with good people who are frustrated and even angry over a bad experience they’ve had. The trick is to turn around their negative situation into a positive outcome.
Real world story: It all happened in a matter of three days. On the first morning, the airline informed me that my flight was cancelled. Surprisingly, though, I was booked on the next flight, which was leaving two hours later. Whew!
When I arrived at my destination, I simply followed the signs for “ground transportation.” Apparently, though, I was in the wrong location, but my driver told me to stay where I was, and he would come get me. As my driver approached, a traffic guard started yelling at him to go away. As I approached my driver, the traffic guy yelled at me at the top of his lungs, “Don’t you DARE get in that car!” I ran back to the curb in confusion. My driver called me and told me to walk toward the next terminal, but the traffic guy followed me and yelled at my driver that he was going to arrest him if he picked me up. What? I was totally confused. Finally, my driver told me to call another driver and to wait downstairs. I called another driver. As I approached his car, he drove away. He hadn’t seen me. When I tried to call him, my phone battery died. Surprisingly, though, he came back around and we connected. The drive to the hotel was pleasant, and he was kind. He told me that he got a ticket at that airport’s upper level the previous week.
On the second morning, my driver never showed up. Fortunately, though, the hotel front desk person was super friendly and quickly arranged for a shuttle driver to take me two miles to my speaking engagement. As the driver pulled up to my destination, he ran into a misplaced directional sign. A man standing outside tried to help move the sign, but my driver started yelling at him as if it was HIS fault. Yikes! Once inside the building, however, the information people were very helpful and guided me to my presentation room.
That night, my driver was late—but did show up. He didn’t know where we were going, so I gave him the address from my itinerary, which I had received that morning. Guess what? It was the wrong address! We had to drive across town in rush-hour traffic, so I arrived 30 minutes late to deliver my presentation. Surprisingly, though, the attendees were not concerned. They were having a cocktail and were in a relaxed mood. Whew!
On the third morning, while I was driving from one city to another, my bank called to tell me my credit card had been compromised, and I had to cancel it. Luckily, the card company would reimburse my losses. The presentation that day to 160 people went great! The attendees were engaged and participative. Whew!
In three days, I experienced many BAD events, but they were immediately countered by GOOD outcomes by people who are dedicated to great service delivery and positive attitudes:
- Airport traffic guy yells at me, scaring off driver —————- second driver was kind
- Third driver doesn’t show up ————————————– front desk arranged shuttle
- Shuttle driver runs over sign ————————————– information people were helpful
- Fourth driver arrives late and takes me to wrong location —- driver gets me across town quickly
- My credit card is compromised ———————————– company reimburses my losses
Strategies that turn it Around:
- When bad things happen to customers, look for ways to make the outcomes of your interactions with them good. With exceptional service in mind, you’ll find the answer to making customers feel special and cared for.
- If your customers get stuck thinking about the bad, then have them hit the pause button. How do you do that? Refocus their mind by showing sympathy and emphasizing the good outcomes you are working on to turn around their situation.
Remember. Bad things happen to good people. But when you focus on providing good outcomes, you stop customers from dwelling on those bad things. When you are proactively positive in words and actions, you WILL provide exceptional customer service.
What do you do to release customers from a BAD experience? Please share in the comments sections below.