b'FOGHORNFOCUS: CUSTOMER SERVICERaising the Bar on Customer ServiceBy Karen Rainbolt, FOGHORN Managing EditorW hen a guest checked into a large hotel chainand the company making it worse by not making it right. recently to attend a conference that his employerExperts suggest that companies own up to problems was hosting at the hotel property, he was given awhen they ariseand they willand do so with sincerity room key. He soon learned, however, that his coworkers hadand empathy. Simply following a script, regardless of the also been given a complimentary glass of champagne alongsituation, is not encouraged because the lack of a personal with several freebies when they checked in. He wonderedapproach will come off as cold and calculated. Instead, why he wasnt treated equally and went back to the frontexperts suggest formulating response strategies that include desk and mentioned the difference in his check-in experi- a timeline for communication and resolution, if possible, ence. The clerk apologized profusely and quickly providedand to execute the response as quickly as possible. Planning the niceties that his colleagues were enjoying.ahead and having resolution strategies available should help That may have been the end of a customer experiencemitigate issues before they escalate. gone wrong with amends made to rectify it. But it wasnt.Why it MattersAfter the guest attended the first day of the conference,Its long been reported that persons who have a bad ex-he returned to his room later that same evening and wasperience are more likely to share that occurrence with others surprised to find a handwritten letter of apology and histhan those who have good experiences. Initially, this phe-hotel rooms mini fridge filled with goodies to enjoy duringnomenon was limited to the spoken word, usually with the length of his stay. Talk about raising the bar on customerpeople known well to the wronged customer. The damage serviceliterally! to the offending company was that family members and Going Further close friends of the upset customer would formulate bad When it comes to customer service, one might thinkopinions of the company, even though they were not person-that a simple apology with immediate action to reverse theally treated badly.According to the 2017 Customer Service offended customers experience would be enough to fix aBarometer, fielded by American Express, found, Americans situation and satisfy an unhappy customer. And, sometimesacross the board report telling more people about poor that would suffice. Perhaps, though, going further than theservice (15 people on average), than positive ones.customers expectations could turn a blas customer to oneWhile 15 people per incident hearing about bad customer who sings the companys praises to anyone who will listen.may not sound terrible, consider this: According to the In this case, the guest immediately texted all his col- Customer Service Barometer, More than half of Americans leagues, including a photo of the signed note of apology,have scrapped a planned purchase or transaction because telling his coworkers that the hotel was a class act.of bad service, and 33 percent say theyll consider switching companies after just a single instance of poor service. Ouch!Owning Mistakes Thats not all. Today, social media has changed the Everyone makes mistakes. Whats important is howcustomer experience and how it is expressed.The growing a company responds to a mistake it has made. Too manynumber of social media forums allows rights and wrongs stories have made the news cycles of customers treated badlyto be amplified and be heard and seen by large numbers of 6 NOVEMBER 2019FOGHORN'