Service Recovery and Perfect Apologies

Despite our best efforts to efficiently organize club operations and train employees, situations will inevitably arise when members are dissatisfied with service or quality of products offered.?Whether we feel the complaint is legitimate or unwarranted is of no consequence.?The member is not satisfied, and our only concern is changing the outcome by making a speedy and gracious recovery to his or her complete satisfaction.

To better aid employees in making a gracious recovery, we offer the following Seven Step Process, which can be divided into two distinct phases.?Steps 1 through 4 constitute The On-the-Spot Fix, while steps 5 through 7 make up The Long-Term Repair aimed at correcting the underlying cause of the service failure.

Therefore, when a member approaches us with a complaint or concern, here’s what we do:

1. Focus – stop what you’re doing and focus entirely on the member and what he is saying.
2. Listen – carefully to fully understand the nature of the problem.?Recognize that the underlying problem is not always the one that is being brought to your attention; for example, the complaint may be about the food, but the real issue is slow service.?Sometimes you have to read between the lines or recognize the issue is larger or maybe different than the one being complained about.
3. Apologize – a sincere apology is absolutely necessary.?We (the club) and you (personally) are sorry for any service failure, so we should never be shy about or slow to fully apologize.?After apologizing, tell the member what you are going to do to correct the problem.?If the member still seems dissatisfied, enquire what we might do to make it right.
4. Make It Right – quickly, efficiently, and discreetly (to avoid any possible embarrassment to the member).
5. Assurance – after the situation has been made right, approach the member and let him know that the matter will be addressed formally by management.
6. Notification – if the failure is serious enough or the member does not seem fully satisfied, notify your supervisor, department head, or manager on duty so she can also approach the individual to discuss the situation and apologize.
7. Report – When you have time, but no later than the end of your shift, fill out a Service Issue Resolution, PCPM Form 180, describing the problem, your assessment of the underlying cause(s), your efforts to recover, and the member’s mood after recovery (we will post a sample Service Issue Resolution form later this week) .?This form is used to more formally address the problem and, if deemed necessary, gives the general manager an opportunity to call the member after the fact to apologize again and discuss the issue further.

Unfortunately, in our business, there will always be mistakes and failures, but what has gone wrong is done and not nearly as important as what we do next. ?Managers should discuss recovery techniques with staff frequently and share stories of both successful and unsuccessful recoveries so that everyone can learn from our experiences.

But Are Our Service Apologies at Risk?

As discussed above, we outlined a method by which employees can make a gracious and effective recovery from any service failure.?Step 3 of this process is the apology.?As we say, “A sincere apology is absolutely necessary.”

While it never occurred to us that employees should be taught how to apologize, we saw two items recently – one on television and the other on the Internet – that made us realize that there are “apologies” and then there are “perfect apologies.”

Here’s the detail:?Laurie Puhn, a relationship mediator, appeared on a cable news network to critique the apology of a corporate CEO for problems with their popular consumer product.?In her comments, Ms. Puhn said that there are four elements to an effective apology:

1. Don’t minimize your failing or error.?Make a big deal out of it – as it is to the unhappy customer.?Say something like, “Mrs. Smith, I’m so sorry our slow service delayed you . . .”
2. Apologize for the inconvenience caused.?“. . . we realize how much we have inconvenienced you and your guest.”
3. Offer something to make amends.?“As a further apology, I won’t be charging you for your orders.”
4. Say that you hope to have the opportunity to re-earn their trust.?“I hope you’ll come back after your tennis match next week so we can serve you properly.”

A few days later an Internet headline “The Perfect Apology – The ONE Word That Destroys It!” caught our attention.?I followed the link to Kate Nasser’s The People-Skills Coach.?Here’s what she had to say:

“As The People-Skills Coach, I start this post with the assumption that you are willing to take ownership of the impact your actions and words have on others. You are ready to deliver the perfect apology!

Well, the perfect apology is found in simple sincerity and the ONE word that destroys it is … IF

• I am sorry IF I hurt you.?IF??Do you own it or not??Do you care to rebuild my trust or not?
• I am sorry IF that came across as …?IF??You are aware that it came across badly so why waver?
• We are sorry IF we have not met your business needs.?IF???We wouldn’t be discussing it otherwise.

Your intentions don’t matter much if a team member or a customer is offended by what you have said or done. Rebuild the trust with a sincere apology as soon as you are aware of his/her reaction.

Replace IF with THAT or FOR and see the difference.

• I am sorry THAT I hurt you.
• I am sorry FOR the impact this had on you.
• I am sorry THAT came across as …
• We are sorry THAT we have not met your business needs. We will …

Why does this little change make a big difference to others? Because it is clear that you are putting their needs ahead of your pride. Simple sincerity makes for the perfect apology.”

It’s clear from these two news items that apologies may not be the simple matter we imagined.?When teaching the Service Recovery process to your employees, take a few extra minutes to teach them to make the perfect apology.

For more useful ideas and information, check out the wide range of highly integrated and widely acclaimed Professional Development, Operational, and Training Resources at the PCPM Marketplace Store.