My daughter had a great time watching the Mardi Gras with a group of friends in Sydney last weekend. Come Sunday morning, they went for breakfast at a café in a well-known tourist precinct. The list of items that weren’t available that morning (although offered on the menu) was extensive, including poached eggs, pancakes, hash browns, mugs of coffee, skinny milk, soy milk, and tap water (“it’s an OH & S issue”). Cutlery was not provided for one of the group, despite several requests (and what was supplied to the others was dirty). Six of the seven meals eventually delivered were not as ordered, and one girl had her ordered supplied incorrectly four times. When the group expressed their frustration to the waiter, she responded “It’s not my fault, I just work here”.
How could it all go so terribly wrong? It got me thinking about how people react in business when things go pear-shaped. The way you and your staff respond when things go wrong could be a game changer – because many of your competitors either don’t care or don’t know how to solve problems.
So what does happen when your service or product breaks? What’s the initial reaction when a problem arises? How soon before someone responds – and who does the responding? Is the response about fixing the problem, or about who’s at fault? And how is the right solution for that customer identified? We’ve all been on the end of bad (or no) reactions when things go wrong. How many times do we hear people complaining about their horrible service experiences? And what an unexpected pleasure when someone responds quickly and effectively when things go awry.
If your customers know they can rely on you absolutely even when there’s a problem, next time they buy, price might not be the most important consideration. And chances are the word of mouth about your business would be delight and not despair. Can you make buying from you the no risk option?
