Recover Right!

Do you work for an organization where everyone is perfect and mistakes are never made? I didn’t think so. As long as people are responsible for delivering products or services, there will be mistakes. How you handle those mistakes says volumes about the level of customer service you offer and the length of time your organization will be in business.

My wife and I found a great restaurant shortly after we moved to Orlando. It came very close to becoming one of our least favorite places to eat. Let me explain.

During one of our first visits, I was having lunch with my family and some of our out of town guests. I had ordered a sandwich and had taken my first bite when it happened… There was something in my sandwich that did not belong there. (In case some of you are reading this around meal time, I will spare you the details.)

I alerted the server and she apologized and took the sandwich back to the kitchen. A few minutes later the manager arrived at our table and also apologized and wanted to know how they could make up for this situation. I ordered another item and went about our conversation with our friends. It was a good choice and I enjoyed it much more than the original selection.

To be honest, I was expecting that they would have given me my replacement meal for free. When they brought me the check, the entire meal for my party was complimentary. This exceeded my expectations and turned what could have been a bad experience into one that transformed me into a very loyal customer. This is called “Guest Recovery.”

Since that day nearly seven years ago, I have been back to this restaurant over 20 times. (We had a lot of out of town guests our first few years in Orlando. I worked for Walt Disney World and we gave many of our friends and family free lodging and admission.) We made it a part of each family’s visit to take them to our favorite restaurant. The restaurant’s policy of guest recovery and their training of all employees resulted in a considerable amount of revenue for them over the past years.

Any business should have a plan in place so that every employee knows how to respond when their company makes a mistake. Many organizations train their managers on how to handle these situations, but their front line employees do not have a clue on how to respond to the customer. Many times you will hear, “I just work here.”

During my time as a “Cast Member” at Walt Disney World they did an excellent job of educating every employee on the importance of appropriate guest recovery when a mistake occurs. Organizations like Disney and the Ritz Carlton Hotel understand that how they handle mistakes can make the difference between someone never returning or becoming a loyal customer.

Great customer service organizations see an opportunity whenever a mistake occurs, regardless of whose fault it may be. This allows for personal contact with the customer where you can demonstrate how valuable they are to your business.

A simple, “I’m sorry” can go a long ways towards reducing the tension with a customer when a problem occurs, yet those words seem to be missing from our vocabulary. Once an organization accepts responsibility for a problem, most customers are reasonable and willing to forgive and move forward. So many people, especially front line employees, get defensive when a customer has a complaint or offers a suggestion.

Take a few minutes and review your guest recovery practices at your business or organization.

Do all employees know how to respond when a problem occurs?
Are your recovery policies appropriate for the mistake?
Do you look at these mistakes as opportunities or annoyances?
If you spot a trend in complaints, is this information utilized by the group delivering the product or service to make improvements?

Recover Right!

No False Waits!

One of the most difficult things for any restaurant is matching the staffing level with the actual flow of customers. If you have too many employees working, you have high overhead costs. Too few and you can't take care of your customers.

We are in San Antonio this week spending some time with friends. After a fun day at SeaWorld, we left in search of somewhere to have dinner. Several weeks ago, we had had a good experience at a particular restaurant chain. We again found one of their locations off of Loop 410 in San Antonio. It was 8:00 p.m. when we entered the restaurant. The two hostesses greeted us and asked for our name to add to their wait list. They informed us it would be a 15-20 minute wait.

I gave them my name and then looked around the restaurant. Thirteen tables were clean and ready to accommodate customers. (This was about 25-30 percent of the entire restaurant.) I asked the hostess why they were not seating people at those tables and she responded by telling me they were short waitresses tonight.

I asked to see the manager. He came out and was polite, but told me they were short kitchen staff and he had told the hostesses to hold up on the seating so he did not have to "comp" any meals due to slow food delivery.

So instead of letting us sit down and at least have a coke or water, we were asked to stand in a crowded entry way with 10-15 other guests. There are better ways to handle this situation. First, do your very best to ensure you have adequate staff on hand, especially on weekend nights. Secondly, if you do run into this situation, you are better off seating your customers and explaining the situation. You may need to offer a complimentary appetizer, but at least you will keep their business.

We were hungry, so we left and went next door to Olive Garden. They were also busy, but immediately took us to a table. Part of their training for their managers is a policy called "No False Waits." This means if they have a table ready, they should be able to handle your party.

They were very busy and our waitress had a lot of tables. She quickly stopped by the table and introduced herself and let us know that she had a lot of tables that had been seated at the same time and she would be with us as soon as possible. She communicated the situation! We were fine with the short wait. At least we were seated and could enjoy spending time talking with friends. She eventually came to our table and did a great job taking care of us.

Remember: The number one customer turnoff is a long wait! This includes waiting in the entryway of a restaurant when you can see empty tables ready for you.