{"id":1692,"date":"2017-08-14T14:52:25","date_gmt":"2017-08-14T14:52:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/getswitchedonblog.com\/?p=1692"},"modified":"2019-09-27T12:47:25","modified_gmt":"2019-09-27T12:47:25","slug":"handle-customer-service-problem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.getswitchedon.com\/index.php\/2017\/08\/14\/handle-customer-service-problem\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Handle a Customer Service Problem"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yes. We all love hearing that word. Your customers love hearing it too, especially when you are handling a customer service problem. A good friend was at the Greenbrier Resort for a special trip for their wedding anniversary. When he made his reservation he had mentioned it was his anniversary and that he would like a room with a beautiful mountain view.<\/p>\n

When they arrived at the room, he was underwhelmed with view and mentioned it to the bellhop. She suggested he go down to talk to the concierge desk.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

He went down to the concierge and he told them he had a problem. The concierge smiled and said, \u201cNo matter what your question is, the answer is YES!\u201d <\/strong><\/span>That caught him off guard. He was not prepared for that one! \u201cCan you repeat that please?\u201d Again the concierge smiled and said, \u201cNo matter what your question is, the answer is YES!\u201d<\/p>\n

briefly explained the situation and the answer WAS yes! They were moved to a room with an amazing view. At dinner that night the manager brought them a bottle of champagne and wished them a happy anniversary. Wow! That is an amazing customer experience for them AND he said he has retold that story dozens\u00a0of times over the past couple years.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know if that bellhop called the concierge desk to alert them but I doubt it. That must be SOP<\/strong> (Standard Operating Procedure) for that concierge and likely everyone on their staff when dealing with a customer service problem. I believe one of the best customer service strategies this:<\/p>\n

Seek opportunities to go the EXTRA-MILE and create a memory!<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The staff at the Greenbrier executed this strategy perfectly and it paid off. What do you do when there is a \u201cissue\u201d with a customer? Instead of looking at is as a problem, look at it as an opportunity to blow them away.<\/p>\n

Imagine if they were unable to move rooms. Likely the only thing he would have remembered about the trip was he did not get the room he requested. I\u2019ve done something like that. Have you? Instead, the answer was YES and they left singing the praises of the resort for years and have returned.<\/p>\n

Maybe you cannot say yes to everything in your business model. You could say, \u201cI am sorry we dropped the ball on that one. What could we do to solve this and keep\u00a0you as a Raving Fan?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

I have a book on the shelf called\u00a0Turned On<\/strong><\/a>,\u00a0by Roger Dow<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Susan Cook. <\/strong>They\u00a0describe research the Marriott <\/strong>did to identify which guests intended to stay at the Marriott again. They divided guest stays into 3 groups A, B, and C.<\/p>\n