Why is it that close encounters at restaurants have some of the most profound lessons for customer service?  As many of you know, close encounters from restaurants make up several chapters of my book, Common Sense Service: Close Encounters on the Front Lines.

Last evening, we went with some friends to celebrate a birthday.  When you decide to use one service/product provider from a plethora of choices, there are usually several reaons that factor into the decision.  (At this point, I would like to remind you that it is VERY important that as the service/product provider, you know what those factors are!!)  Our choice on this particular night was that we did not want to go to a chain restaurant, we wanted a quiet atmosphere with good food and great service at a reasonable price (Notice I did not say cheap! – as consumers we are willing to pay for above average service and products.  See link to American Express Study at end of article.*) 

After ordering our drinks, we waited and waited…. and waited.  During this wait we noticed that the table next to us had received their drinks and bread.   Since I was the one who had suggested this place, I started to get nervous and a bit embarassed.  I walked to the front where the proprietor stood and told him that we were not getting any service and that I was a bit embarassed since I had selected THIS place for THIS event.  He immediately apologized and asked me to show him where our table was.  He again apologized and said that he would handle it immediately.  A few short minutes later he appeared with not the standard bread, but a beautiful plump loaf of bread that looked like it could have been the featured item in a local bakery.  He then spoke to the table as a whole, “I greatly apologize that you have not received our normal level of service.  Unfortunately, I have had several servers who did not show up tonight.  I know that is not your problem, but unfortunately it is my problem tonight and I will certainly make sure you have better service from this point on this evening. 

“I know that is not your problem, but unfortunately it is my problem tonight”.  Instead of just saying, “Sorry, we are short of servers tonight,” he added the fact that this was not our problem but then actually managed to elicit an empathetic response from me (a fairly difficult thing to accomplish I might add) by stating that it was unfortunately his problem.   BUT – he did not stop there – he asked what each of us was drinking and told us that he wanted to provide that “on the house”.

The meal did finally arrive and the food was spectacular as always, validating our decision to come.  So what lessons were learned from this close encounter?

1.  When you have messed up, admit it.

2.  When your service delivery fails, apologize to the customer.

3.  Work to immediately make it better.

4.  Go beyond fixing it.  (A new national study found that a majority of customers want something MORE than just a fix – i.e. the drinks on the house)

5.  Let the customer know that it is your problem, not their problem and that you will definitely do better the next time if given the chance. (This was the last thing I heard when leaving the restaurant – a comment regarding our next visit!)

 As Julia Child would say… Bon Apetit… and may all your lessons at the dinner table be so profound!

* http://www.marketwatch.com/story/americans-will-spend-9-more-with-companies-that-provide-excellent-service-2010-07-07?reflink=MW_news_stmp

I have a program that I present in the healthcare industry titled The Presciption Rx for Service.  In this program, as in all of my customer service training programs, “Saying It Better” is a big focus.

 Today I was reminded yet again of how important the words we use are in the impression received.  I went for an appointment at my doctor’s office.  The last time I visited the office, as is common with most doctor’s offices, I had to wait about 45 min or an hour.  Thus, I was not that concerned when events of the day caused me to arrive about 12 minutes late.  After signing in, the reception looked up at me and said, “Mrs. Allen, since you are late and have missed your appointment, we will have to try to work you in.”

“WHAT?!” I exclaimed with a rather preturbed look on my face.  “Well you missed your appointment time so we will now have to work you in”

My reply to this?  “You have got to be kidding me.  The last time I was here I waited about an hour and a half and now you are telling me I have missed my appointment when I am 12 minutes late?”

“I wasn’t here the last time you were in.” She replied

Well it just went way downhill after that.  I told her this was the most redicilous thing I had ever heard. 

Now let’s talk about this whole scenario.   First to note is that the current situation is not always what the customer is judging you on.  My severity of judgement came due to the many times I had to wait long periods of time and the fact that I had never complained about that even though I am the customer of this office!  I have been well trained by medical offices in my life to EXPECT to wait.

The really silly thing is that in about 15 minutes the inner sanctum door opened and I was ushered in to see the doctor.  I had been fuming for the entire 15 minutes thinking about how I will never again wait patiently (no pun intended!) in this office.

Did you notice that I exaggerated how long I waited the last time. When a customer is mad at you, they will often do this.  Try to focus on the source of the anger instead of the actual words.

 Later when conversing with my doctor (who I REALLY LIKE by the way) I shared with her that perhaps they needed to rethink this approach.  I also told her I would apologize to the young receptionist as I know that someone told her to say that and it really wasn’t her fault.  I just have a feeling that some brilliant consultant informed the practice that this would be a good idea to keep things moving better.  What they forgot about is the reaction of at least part of the client base.  That would be the half like me that is not intimidated by the medical profession as the other half is.  Why do I mention this – remember that when anyone issues a complaint to you there were a host of others who felt the same way but weren’t as bold (or as obnoxious as the case may be!)

So how could it have been “said better” in this scene?  The best thing would have been to say nothing at all.  Since there were another 6 people in the waiting room, I don’t think my tardiness was causing the doctor to sit in her office and catch up on the latest medical journal.  Now let’s say this was an office where you always were seen in a punctual manner (we can dream can’t we?).  In that case the receptionist could have said.  “Mrs. Allen, you are just a few minutes late, but we should be able to get you in shortly.”   That would have gotten the message across without the ballistic reaction.

How about you?  What do YOU have to tell us about your customer service at the doctor’s office?  I am sure there are plenty of great stories out there…let’s hear them!  Post a comment and YOU might win the next Starbuck’s gift card!

In my book, Common Sense Service,  there is a chapter titled: In Love With the Voice!  This chapter chronicles the skills of a real life service rep with an exceptional voice and how this voice built amazing relationships with customers.

This week I was reminded of this when I spoke to Suzy, a telephone representative with a vacation rental company (YES- I am finally going on a vacation!)

Suzy’s voice carried such enthusiasm that I thought she might just jump right through the telephone and into my office.  Her voice was in definite contrast to the representative at the same company with whom I had conversed earlier in the day.  That representative was polite and professional but “unremarkable” (is that a word?!)

Suzy was definitely remarkable.  When I complemented her and asked her how she came to project such a vibrant attitude she told me that as a child she had a major speech impediment.  This caused her to attend speech therapy where she learned to articulate each and every syllable of every word.  She said that she combined this skill with a “touch” of enthusiasm in her current role as a telephone reservation specialist.

What a lesson for anyone who ever picks up a telephone.  Combine articulation with a touch of enthusiasm and YOU can be REMARKABLE!

I just had a participant in a class yesterday who talked about a situation that is common in the service world.  Many times a customer will call to order a product or service.  They think they have described what they want in perfect detail, yet we know that we do not have enough information.

 It is very important in a case like this to master some basic questioning techniques.  To avoid upsetting the customer we must first repeat what the customer said and then make a statement such as this: “Thank you for providing me with that information.  I now hope you can provide me with the following information so that I am sure to order exactly what you need.”  This statement validates that they are on the right track and basically asks permission to ask some additional questions.  Notice that the focus was on “I” not you. In other words, it is me who needs help, not YOU.  If the customer was told, “You haven’t given me enough information to place this order”, the customer might become defensive.

I had a participant in a recent training who pointed out a common occurrence at retail service establishments.  As John was leaving the store he was asked, “Did you find everything you needed?”

He replied that he had not and mentioned what he was not able to find and the service representative seemed totally uninterested in truly listening or in passing his comment along.

 If we are going to ask customers if we are performing to their satisfaction, we had better at least ACT as though we are listening to their answer AND that we will record their input and act upon it.  Have you had anything similar happent to you?

Today I visited a city that I used to be very familiar with.  It has been a number of years since I have visited this city and the streets that I used to navigate with ease were now unfamiliar.  I had to relearn my way around.

 Perhaps your company has made some changes that make your customers physical or virtual navigation a bit different.  What are you doing to help your customers navigate this new road? With short attention spans a customer may move on if you don’t make them feel comfortable once again in the “newness”.  That “newness” could be a new website, a new product, a new location, new management or countless other changes.

 It is a natural human tendency to resist change.  As partners with our customers we must make the road an easy one to travel or they may decide to do business with another vendor who has not changed.  Change is progress, but only if we plan not just for our side of the counter, but also for the customer’s.

 Traveled any new roads lately?  Here’s hoping all your roads of change are paved with preparation for success!

What is it that is getting in the way of that follow-up call to a potential or existing customer? As homeowner, like many of you, I often find my ‘project list’ to be seemingly endless. It occurred to me today that I have no less than four calls in to local contractors that have never been returned. For those of us who spend countless hours working to “make the phone ring”, it is hard to comprehend a business that does not return phone calls, yet it happens countless times every day at businesses across America! As I was thinking about the phone calls never returned, two questions came to mind:

1. Is business SO GOOD that they don’t need MY BUSINESS?

2. Do I have any customers or potential customers who have experienced a failed follow-up from on my part?

I would rather not answer the second question on the grounds that it may incriminate me!!

For me, thankfully BUSINESS IS GREAT! Perhaps for some of the contractors mentioned above, BUSINESS IS GOOD OR GREAT. This brings up an interesting complication. When business is GOOD or GREAT, we have less time to spend building more business. Very few businesses experience even volumes throughout their sales calendar. What goes up must eventually or at least temporarily at some point come down. If we do not build business in the good times, the bad times will be even worse!

Take a moment today to take stock of your business building activities. Are you over-promising and under-delivering or under-promising and over-delivering. The first can ruin a businesses reputation, while the latter can line the profit coffers. Schedule time in your slow months or weeks to make a customer contact and customer follow-up plan for the hectic weeks or months. Take advantage of the slow months or weeks and realize that they are an excellent time to reconnect with past customers and determine future needs.

If business is good, you may have to SCHEDULE time to make sure it becomes and stays GREAT!

Anyone who has ever taught a child to drive knows that it can give you grey hair before your time. Trying to smile while holding on for dear life requires nerves of steel. One day while accompanying my daughter on a drive into town, I gasped as she changed lanes without looking. “Amanda,” I said, “did you know you just changed lanes?” She replied with a confused look on her face… “But I kept going straight?!” “Yes,” I countered, “but the road DIDN”T!.” A slight curve in the two lanes had allowed her to completely change lanes without turning the wheel.

How many of us unconsciously continue on a straight path while the road of life twists and turns? What have we missed by failing to turn our wheel and follow the road of opportunity to destinations far more interesting than the road directly ahead of us? Just as with my young driver, the greatest danger is not being alert and practiced enough to see a possibility to turn in a different direction.

Just as individuals must be willing to change, so must any successful business. The blockbuster product of today can quickly become the lackluster product of tomorrow. If we listen to our customers, they will tell us where the road is going. In order to listen, we must somehow learn how to ask the right questions. In a nanosecond, the mind of a customer can change direction. We must be tapped into their wants and desires or we may miss quickly changing preferences.

Siezing opportunity does not happen by accident. It is a skill that we must practice daily in both our work life and our private life. Being open to turning in a new direction keeps our perspectives fresh and ready for new avenues and ideas to change the destiny of our lives!

Teresa Allen works with businesses who want build profits through enhanced employee performance. A nationally recognized speaker, author and business consultant, Allen presents customized keynotes and training programs across the country. For further information, please call 800-797-1580 or send an email to tallen@AllenSpeaks.com.