Have you ever had an experience at a company that made you think “Wait, what?”
Real World Story: A friend of mine relayed the following story:
“My husband and I were going to one of our favorite restaurants, Café Zupas, in Salt Lake City, Utah. The restaurant
serves homemade soups, salads and sandwiches. We arrived shortly before 11:30 am, ready and excited to partake in the food we love. I placed my order for my favorite soup and was told it wasn’t ready yet. I place my order for my second favorite item, and it too was not ready yet. In fact, NONE of my favorite items were ready. So, while my husband ordered and ate HIS favorite sandwich, I sat and ate crackers and a roll. This experience was very disappointing to us. What was the problem? Apparently, the heating elements weren’t working, preventing the food from being cooked, or something wasn’t working correctly. We don’t really know. We watched in wonder as other exasperated customers experienced this poor service.
BUT, what could the staff have done to circumvent this bad experience? How about communicate—explain to customers WHY the restaurant wasn’t 100% ready. What if an employee from the very start explained the situation and presented the food options that WERE available? And what if the staff had apologized beforehand for having a limited selection?
Strategies that Turn it Around:
- Communicate ahead of time! Communication is crucial when you know you have a problem with a service or product. For example, if you work in a doctor’s office and the doctor is running behind, how about telling incoming patients, “Your doctor had emergency surgery this morning and is running about an hour behind. Can you wait or would you like to re-schedule?” People who choose to stay are okay with the wait when the reason for the delay is explained to them! Not KNOWING about a wait is what annoys customers.
- Explain the WHY of your process. Be transparent about policies and procedures and be upfront with customers. For example, when a customer is talking to you and giving you an order or important information, and you are staring at your computer screen, you should explain, “I’m still listening. I’m documenting what you’re saying, so we have all the details.” A customer will now know you’re focusing on his or her issue and you’re not posting on Facebook instead. As another example, look at the difference between a nurse who comes into a patient’s room saying, “Hi. I’m Melanie, the R.N. I’m going to change your mom’s IV bags.” versus a nurse who walks in, replaces drips and IVs, moves around equipment—all without looking at or speaking to anyone. Can you see the difference? A little explanation goes a long way.
Remember: The more you explain, the less they complain. Enough said!
What do YOU do to circumvent problems? Please share your story or comments.