Earning Customer Loyalty Through Service Recovery

service,loyalty, Earning Customer Loyalty Through Service Recovery

Let’s face it – Customer service recovery is necessary in every organisation.

No matter how wonderful your customer service is, there is always a need for service recovery.

A customer service failure, simply defined, is customer service performance that fails to meet an individual’s expectations. When a service failure occurs, a customer will expect to be compensated for the inconvenience in the form of any combination of refunds, credits, discounts or apologies.

service,loyalty, Earning Customer Loyalty Through Service Recovery

Below are 7 customer service failures that you need to avoid:

  • Ignoring important communication channels

Every organisation must assure their customers that they will be there for them in the event of service failure. Thus, one of the customer service failures you need to avoid is precisely ignoring important other channels, such as social media, the messages sent through your website and even email marketing replies.

In order to prevent this issue, simply broaden your customer service team’s area of operation. Make sure that your professionals are monitoring all your communication channels and not only the most traditional ones.

  • Not personalize your customer service

People like to feel they are valued when they interact with companies. If they feel that they’re treated just like another number, they’re unlikely to create an affectionate relationship with that brand. Be aware of this possible customer service failure, which is forgetting to personalize your contact. To do so, it’s necessary to consider your audience’s profile and use appropriate discourse.

  • Dismissing the feedback received

Getting feedback is a great way to always stay on a path towards improvement. However, this is only possible when there is real effort involved in listening to this feedback and acting on it. The next step is to create the habit of analysing this feedback and finding ways to improve the failures that were pointed out.

  • Neglecting on the monitoring of customer satisfaction level

One of the most serious service failures consists of not monitoring this rate, and thus, not being able to implement improvement strategies. This can be done quite simply: Just ask your audience to rate the service they received, including electronically. From there on, you need to assess the scores received over time and try to detect trends.

  • Not keep up with trends and innovations in your field

One customer service failure is ignoring the trends in this area. You need to be tuned into searching for innovations that can improve your work. Those who are unable to do so are bound to always be surpassed by their competitors who have an eye on innovation.

service,loyalty, Earning Customer Loyalty Through Service Recovery

Business problems can happen, but everything can be solved

It’s a reality that no matter how efficient and amazing a company is, still, there are issues that happen sometimes. Problems are often unavoidable in the workplace since people and technology can’t be predictable with their behaviors.

Technology can sometimes fail to work, and it’s understandable. Service failures can happen unexpectedly; that’s why business owners must be ready for such situations.

Good thing that despite all failures and problems that can happen, there can always be a solution that we can find.

service,loyalty, Earning Customer Loyalty Through Service Recovery

Here are some tips for managing customer service failures better:

  • Identify and acknowledge the issue

Failures can’t be solved if the cause of the issue is not identified. The first thing to consider is to reduce your customer’s pressure using their service channels, including email, social media, websites, and physical outlets. Check all your customer support channels to make sure that every inquiry is seen, read, and responded

  • Apologise to the customer

Even if the failure is not within the organization’s control, customer service support must be willing to respond when a customer gets in touch to complain. The first and most important thing to do is to apologize to the customer. Make sure that the apology is sincere. Apologizing can make a difference and can even pacify a customer’s anger. It doesn’t matter if the service problem was a result of an earthquake or a typhoon. The damage has been done, and what’s important is to have it fixed.

  • Fix the issue

Of course, this is the most vital step in managing customer service failures. It’s not enough that you apologize to the customer. They’ll appreciate it more if you’ll give attention to their concerns and take action. Assure them that the issue will be fixed and that you’re doing your best to have the matter settled at the earliest possible time.

  • Keep the customer updated and informed

While the problem is being addressed, the customer service personnel or the business owners should try to keep the customer updated and informed on the status of their concern or how much longer it’ll take to get resolved. Honesty is still the best policy, as we all know. It could be a weekly or monthly update via social media or website.

  • Follow up or reach out to customers

After the issue has been resolved, it is important that your company maintain the trust and credibility of the company. You need to reach out to the customer to understand their needs better and to assure them that the service delivery failure will not happen again in the future. This is very important to build strong relationships between customers and the business and to improve customer’s confidence in the products and services offered.

service,loyalty, Earning Customer Loyalty Through Service Recovery

Customer service failures can happen from time to time. What’s important is the process of how the issue is handled. Business owners must be ready and open-minded when it comes improving the business service delivery.

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Check out the 7 customer service failures that you need to avoid at all costs

Service Recovery – 5 Tips For Successful Service Recovery

A 6-Step Process to Manage Failures in Your Customer Service