John Tschohl Custom Quotations

What we're talking about is improving customer service. Virtually any company can benefit from this.

Advertising will get a customer through the door to your business once, but it is service that will keep them coming back. Advertising is aimed at the masses; customer service is aimed at the individual. Service recovery creates word-of-mouth advertising that is 100 times cheaper and more powerful than traditional advertising.

You can't tie employees' hands with cumbersome policies and procedures and expect them to provide exceptional service. It's also important to let employees know that it is OK to make a mistake in the process of working to win customer satisfaction.

They think customers are liars and cheats and, if given the chance, will rip off the company. To prevent that from happening, they develop ridiculous rules, policies, and procedures.

Service recovery doesn't end when you solve the customer's problem. Give her something of value that excites her. Every company has products or services that have value in the eyes of the customer that don't cost the company a lot of money. Identify five or ten products or services your organization has that you could give away when your organization makes a mistake. Vail Resorts has a system in place that provides free drinks when the ski lift shuts down for a few minutes and free lift tickets when it's down for more than 15 minutes.

Too many employees want to blame someone else for mistakes. The customer doesn't care who made the mistake; he wants the employee standing in front of him to take care of it. You must own the problem. Apologize on behalf of your organization, and then take whatever steps are necessary to solve the problem.

It 's solving a customer's problem or complaint and sending him out the door feeling like he has just done business with the greatest company on earth. It's taking an unhappy customer from hell to heaven in 60 seconds or less.

When a customer has a problem, you must act quickly, take responsibility, be empowered, and compensate the customer. Do that and you will have a customer who will be loyal for life.

I've discovered four dirty little secrets of empowerment. And those little secrets are preventing 99.9 percent of companies around the world from providing the superior service customers want. As a result, they are driving many of those customers away.