Give your customers W.A.R.

                                                   NOT THIS KIND OF WAR!


On a recent trip to the cinema with my family, my wife realised towards the end of the film that the knee length jumper and jeans she was wearing had become damp. Unfortunately, she'd been sitting on a seat, which I imagine a small child, (in extra need of potty-training) had been using during the earlier showing of the film!

When we spoke with the cinema manager, she was defensive and put us in the position where we had  to bargain for some kind of resolution. In the end, she gave up and offered us two free cinema tickets, but we had to fight hard for them.

Did the cinema manager do enough to put the problem right? 

In my opinion... she didn't!

Whilst it wasn't her fault specifically, we were wronged customers in her care, and we should not have been put in a position where we had to fight for a decent resolution.

When things go wrong in business and it's the fault of the supplier, it provides an outstanding opportunity for that supplier to go the extra mile and build more trust and rapport with their customer than they had before. In my opinion, the cinema manager completely missed the opportunity and had she taken it, I would no doubt have praised her on Linkedin, Twitter and Facebook ... which is good for business by the way!

My advice? If you want to turn those occasional and unfortunate events to your advantage, you need to give your customers W.A.R. (but not in the military sense!)

Why: 

When we're wronged, we generally want to know why, particularly if we're the customers. If we believe that our suppliers are committed to getting to the bottom of the issue, it feels like they're taking us seriously and that the same mistakes will be avoided in future. Without a why, an apology can feel a little hollow.

Apology: 

It needs to be genuine and sincere, which means, NEVER say those dreadful words:

"I'm sorry if you feel we've let you down"

...which basically means...

"I'm not sorry at all, but I guess I have to say I am. It's really annoying that you're being so pedantic."

Apologies should be stated clearly, specifically and without 'if' or 'but'.

Resolution: 

Our relationships in business are not unconditional. Therefore to make the most of an unfortunate event and turn it to your advantage, you need to do something to resolve the situation. It's not enough to ask the customer what they would like you to do - it's up to you to make a generous offer, using your initiative, creativity and generosity.

When things go wrong for your customers and the fault lies with you/your team/your business, if you give your customers W.A.R.,  they'll like you more than they did before!

Thanks for reading!

I help people to achieve more by developing their resilience, influence and productivity

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