Great Customer Service – Mistakes.

When a business makes a mistake, that is the time that you can really shine in your customer service.

I recently had a small problem at an Italian restaurant. I found a small piece of plastic in my salad. The waitress checked with the kitchen and it was a small part that came from a tub where they store their chopped tomatoes. Ok, no big deal, she apologized and that was that.

However, if she had later on decided to offer us a coffee, that would have turned the negative experience into a positive one. Instead, I was left with the impression that they don’t really care about their customers — and I won’t be back again.

This is because this is a fantastic opportunity to show how much you care about your customers,  not just as customers but as human beings.

We all expect people to make mistakes, but when you amend your mistake twice over, you surprise the person and give them delight, something which very few of us experience daily.

I wonder if this is something that we can apply not just in customer service but also on a broader basis in our personal lives and society?

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