Recently, I went to a new cafe with my husband and ordered just after a busy lunch period.
Lack Of Supply
The waitresss came over to our table after a few minutes and apologized that the snack my husband ordered was not available. We looked at the menu again.
Customer Service Recovery Strategy
Then the waitress surprised us. She said "Please choose anything at all from the menu at no extra charge.
We'd like to make up for not being able to give you what you ordered."
Upgrade At Restaurant Expense
We could have upgraded from a $7.95 snack to a $27.95 main meal steak at no extra charge.
We settled on a similarly priced snack to the original order. But the gesture was appreciated. The follow up service was also excellent.
A Positive Customer Service Experience
We enjoyed the meal. We came away with a positive customer service experience. We're telling people, and we'll be going back.
What a great introduction for a new customer. The waitress turned around a potentially niggling or even damaging customer service experience, by her attitude, approach and actions.
Building A Customer Relationship
Now that's the way to build a customer relationship and to guarantee return customers. And it didn't actually cost them very much at all.
This was a well handled customer service recovery.
How do you handle lack of supply, delays or errors with customers in your small business?
© Customer Service Image courtesy of Yvonne Russell at Grow Your Writing Business.com
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