Client experience pitfalls
I was at a locally owned restaurant when I was reminded of the unknown, unintended and/or ignored variables that can throw a wrench in a client or customers experience. Here’s a story about that experience and how you as a manager can take on the challenge of making it right and keeping a long term and loyal client.
What happened?
I noticed a nearby customer grew more and more angry as she and her party waited for lunch. They sat outside on the patio of the restaurant on a cold blustery New England afternoon. She had two dogs who were attached by their leashes to a flimsy iron table. The dogs were well behaved but one customer triggered them to sprint towards the front door howling. In their excitement they knocked all the drinks off their owner’s table and caught the woman’s legs tightly which made her wince in pain. At that point she stormed into the restaurant enraged and demanding her money back.
When the woman came back she proclaimed to the entire patio “I asked them why our food wasn’t ready and they just told me it takes a LONG time to prepare. Crepes take a long time to prepare? Give me a break! At least I got our money back.” and then the party left.
I was surprised by her assessment of the manager’s reaction, but I had a front row seat to all the variables that got this customer to the point of asking for a refund.
Unknown variables cause nasty pitfalls.
The manager had no idea about what his customer went through.
- When she arrived they didn’t know they had to walk into the restaurant to order first. They waited 20 minutes in the cold before they realized they needed to walk in to order.
- Over the course of an hour there were several incidents where the dogs became excited and she spent energy managing that excitement.
- The waitress constantly walked by and would say “It’s almost ready.” or completely ignore customers. Neither worked well.
- The customer’s personality was strong. A positive strong, from my short time I observed her I felt she was confident, outspoken and tough. She wasn’t going to be silent about poor service.
- The tipping point in my story, spilled water and agitated dogs.
Should the manager be expected to know about all of this? Do the variables justify her reaction? Absolutely not, but he could have handled it better by using the following system.
Managers’ reaction. How to empathize with clients and turn complaints into satisfaction.
It’s important to listen, apologize and try to make it right instead of assuming an unreasonable complaint or a feisty personality just approached you.
- Listen. Don’t interrupt, don’t make up an excuse, simply listen and process what is being said. You don’t have to agree with it but you do need to understand what they’re saying so you can fix it.
- Apologize, tell them you’re sorry about the impact the situation had and mean it. Swallow your pride, you have no idea what variables are affecting them. Don’t take it personally, their frustration has nothing to do with you.
- Tell them there’s no excuse but if they want to know why your team had a challenge that you can give them more information about the issue. Remember, no excuses! If they don’t want to hear why, then don’t tell them. It doesn’t matter, it’s not a quest for justice, you’re trying to keep a customer.
- Tell them how you’re going to fix the issue then make it happen and apologize one more time.
Have you ever considered the client experience pitfalls your customers face? How do you deal with those challenges, keep your cool and empathize in a time of distress?
This is great and I am sure it will work. It would be just as effective in everyday life also.
I wonder if the manager in question used this experience as a “teachable moment” for the wait staff? I hope he/she did – that would have something positive come out of a bad experience for everyone involved (even the dogs).
Since we don’t know all that the manager said, we are only left with what was reported and the actions taken. There could have been listening, could have been more stated that showed empathy we don’t know 100%. I do think the assumption is probably valid that there might not have been much in the way of either. Still what we know for certain is what was offered; the money back. Go above and beyond what people are asking. A free meal. She probably won’t be able to resist the offer. Once back the restaurant has a chance to do more and get that “staff teaching” in the bargain. Word of mouth can then go in the positive rather than negative direction.
Like you, I often find great lessons of how to treat clients in everyday life. When I get frustrated it’s often because I expect to be treated a certain way and end up being treated much worse.
The opposite is also true… Sometimes when I don’t expect very much from a vendor, I end up delighted when I’m treated really well.
That makes me think that there must be something to “managing your clients expectations”.
The tried and true axiom is… “Under promise and Over deliver”.
It’s easy to say but much harder to do. But it’s what we all strive for when designing CPA Websites for our clients.
Susan: I agree, these principles can help in your day to day interactions with people!
Ginny: Great point, if it was a server or someone not in a leadership position it’s a great opportunity to teach. Leading by example also helps. If they observe your actions they’re going to process how you handled it and emulate it.
Brian: “Under promise and over deliver” is a great mantra for proactively planning to meet client expectations and avoid client experience pitfalls. I’m planning a post in the near future to focus on that topic. Thanks!
Wyatt: I agree there is room for interpretation, but I think you can judge the success of alleviating a client complaint by their reaction after speaking with the manager. In that client’s perception the only thing that stuck out was the explanation that a simple food could take an enormously long time to create. She got her money back but after watching her reaction I think there’s a slim chance she’ll ever return for them to have a second chance.
I’m creating a follow-up post to talk about under promising and over delivering. While writing that post I looked at reviews of this restaurant and there is a steady stream of complaints about waiting over an hour for food. I think it’s a challenge with their system that’s causing all these complaints.
Great article Jim! My girlfriend just went through a situation with TD Banknorth and it was very obvious that this post would have been a great benefit to them. No once did anybody own up to the problem or mistake they made. They told her for over 3 weeks that it would be fixed and finally she had to go to the regional manager (who still never said sorry) Needless to say she as well as I have nothing good to say about TD Banknorth. She is switching her accounts to a local CU. This shows how they not only lost a customer but, we have to talked to 3 other people who are now transferring there accounts.
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