Today's Discussion  - The Concept of Service Failure
At one time or another we don't meet our client's expectations.  But if we recognize and recover, we can actually strengthen the relationship with that customer.  Failure is not something that should be dreaded but rather seen as an opportunity. 

Members shared their experience...

I have  forgotten to add children to the roster for one reason or another.  The children become devastated and the parents get very upset.  To make it up I offer free classes.  I have found this to be very sufficient to remedy the situation and earn their loyalty.

I made high-end sunglasses for a MABE member and later found out the manufacturer was offering a rebate.  I was embarrassed to find out the client didn't qualify due to how the transaction was paid.  I was able to resolve the situation and the client appreciated it.

I have done an unbelievable amount of printing for various long-time clients.  I stand behind them regardless of the situation.  If a print job goes bad I will make it right even if I have to do the printing myself.  Of that small 1% of the time when something goes wrong, even if it is the clients fault, I take care of it.

I am dealing with a problem right now.  It is actually someone I recommended that caused the problem.  Timeframes have "blown up".  I have taken steps to solve the problem because I don't want to disappoint the clients and lose potential future business from them.     

I really appreciate people that will go the extra mile to make a situation right.  I had a customer that did the majority of work on a job.  His wife thought he should hire a professional to complete the project.  I was cleaning up after everything.  There was one small flaw that the husband had made.  I knew it would rust and be an issue.  I offered to split the cost to fix it and avoided any future complaints.

We like to help with color samples before starting a job.  We had a client that gave us the colors she wanted and we used them.  The colors didn't work.  In this situation it was just a bedroom so we fixed it at our expense.  If it was the whole house I would have had a "deeper conversation" with client and insisted on samples before starting the job.

I put together a beautiful trip for a client.  When they got back the husband contacted me and said it was the crappiest trip they had ever taken.  I went back to the vendor in Italy and told them we needed to do something about this.  We went back-and-forth.  I finally decided to talk to the person that referred to the client.  She came back and said "I don't know what you are talking about because they had a ball."  Turns out they had a blast and the wife admitted that her husband (the complainer) is just a pain-in-the-ass. 

We all want customer loyalty but we must realize that there are those that are simply not worth doing business with.  They cannot be pleased no matter what you do. 

Some people's referrals are just not worth the potential damage they could cause.

It doesn't matter how good you are, you will have problems.  There are entire training programs dedicated to how to approach these situations.  If you try to satisfy them to the point where they are so blown away, they may forget the problem. 

My 1-page contract is now several pages long to cover all terms and conditions.  I hate it but this paperwork has saved me a lot of hassle.  C-Y-A!