A REMARKABLE RECOVERY!
According to research first done in 1973 by British Airways and replicated many times since, there are four things all our customers want: 1. Friendly, caring service; 2. Flexibility; 3. Problem solving; and 4. Recovery. One of the most difficult of these skills to master is often Recovery because most organizations do not want to admit that mistakes have been made. Amazingly, they would rather blame the customer and then lose them for life!
I tell my clients to view “mis-takes” as OPPORTUNITIES -opportunities to recover quickly and meaningfully and opportunities to learn what is going wrong. The most impactful recovery usually occurs within 72 hours of the “mis-take,” and it is always most memorable when the customer is surprised or delighted by the recovery. There are three steps to a great recovery: 1. Apologize sincerely; 2. Fix it; and 3. Do something extra.
Recently, my daughter had an amazing and memorable recovery experience with Payless Shoesource. She had been shopping at their Portland, Oregon, store with her 6 month old baby and a 2 ½ year old (my VERY precious grandchildren!). Owen, the two year old, loves skeletons (his daddy is a skateboarder), and they had just found shoes for him with a “Googey” on them, as he calls a skull and crossbones. He was so excited that he began to run to the counter to have Gretchen pay for them.
On the way he tripped, fell, and hit his head on one of the display shelves, tearing a big gash in his forehead. As he was crying and bleeding and Gretchen was trying to comfort him while also juggling his baby brother, the manager of the store totally ignored what had happened and offered no help at all. Finally, she approached him, anxious and upset and worried about her hurt child, and asked if he could get her some paper towels to help stop the bleeding. He said, No, they did not have a bathroom, and she would have to go all the way across the mall to Old Navy where they did have one …and then he went on about his business.
Leaving the treasured shoes behind, she grabbed Owen and the baby and rushed across to Old Navy where a staff person realized she needed help and took Simon while Gretchen went to find the bathroom. She said they could not have been nicer there and helped her with the baby, paper towels to stop the bleeding, and comforting Owen while she tried to assess how badly he was hurt. What a contrast in customer service! The girl at Old Navy who took charge of the situation was stationed in the dressing room, and she even closed it down in order to help Gretchen. She then got a first aid kit and found a customer who was a nurse to come and clean Owen’s wound. The compassionate customer advised Gretchen that he would need stitches. All of them went above and beyond to help a hurt little boy and a very upset young Mom. Thank you, Old Navy, for wonderful service!
Knowing Payless was one of my clients, Gretchen immediately called me when she got home, and I sent an email to my contact there to inform him of the terrible service she had received. Three days later, Gretchen had a knock on her door, and it was Dana Rego, the Regional manager of Payless. He apologized over and over and knew exactly who the manager was who had ignored her need and also told her that they DID have a bathroom there. (We have not heard what consequences there were for that store manager, but I suspect they were significant!) She truly appreciated his concern and honesty in not trying to defend the employee but instead admitting that a grave “mis-take” had been made.
Then he presented her not only with the shoes she had planned to buy exactly in Owen’s size, but he also had another pair that had Spiderman on them and lit up when the child walked which he said were the most popular shoes in their store. He then gave her several $10 off coupons and told her he hoped she would return to shop in one of their stores soon. He also insisted that Payless would take care of their doctor bills, something which was above and beyond the scope of their responsibility since Owen’s fall had been an accident. That Regional Manager certainly saved the day for Payless! (Weeks later he has even called to check on how Owen is doing.)
Gretchen was so blown away by this recovery that she called me right away. I have to say that after my extreme disappointment in the store manager, I was thrilled and proud of the way Dana Rego and Payless handled what was a huge mis-take on their part. They not only recovered quickly, but they apologized, fixed it, and did something extra, all the steps of a great recovery. My daughter – AND all her friends-will continue to be loyal Payless customers as a result! What could have been a horrible experience, thanks to both Old Navy and Payless, has become one from which every organization can learn.
