Mistakes happen. I know that I make my fair share. And it happens from time to time as we interact with physical and online merchants. I am very tolerant of mistakes but I also do take note of how companies remediate these issues. Two recent examples come to mind.
I had a reservation at a Fairfield Inn in Westminster, CO. Upon arriving at the lobby, I was informed by Stephen at the desk, that he did not have a room for me, but that he had already made arrangements with the adjacent La Quinta for a room.
Upon arrival at the La Quinta, the real story was revealed. Stephen had made a reservation, but there was no previous arrangement for La Quinta to give up a room without prior payment. Instead of Stephen making a reservation at a hotel where they did have an agreement (there were numerous other Marriott properties nearby), he left me to argue with La Quinta on my own, in effect washing his hands of me.
As a long-time Marriott Rewards member, I was livid at being treated this way. I left a sternly worded voicemail for the Fairfield Inn General Manager. To her credit, the GM called me the next day to profusely apologize, explain that she had covered the expense at the La Quinta with her personal credit card and was providing some new training for Stephen about what Marriott customer service means.
She also sent me this follow up email:
Hello, Mr. Peterson,
First, I want to apologize for the way your situation was handled last night. Stephen should not have treated you the way he did. I am so sorry.
I have also paid for your room and the new receipt is attached showing your credit.
Thank you,
Diana Thate
General Manager
Kudos to Diana, she did the right thing and contacted me to apologize and provide a narrative of her remediation of the issue.
Later in the same trip to Colorado, I was staying at the Homewood Suites in Boulder. I returned to the hotel on Sunday very late and was ready to fall in to bed, bone tired (OK, it was due to an extended fly-fishing trip …) and when I pulled back the covers, I found that there were no sheets on the bed.
Whoever was working on my room went to the effort of taking the old sheets off and then made the bed without a replacement fitted or top sheet. I am not sure about how distracted someone would need to be to make a bed and not notice that they failed to put on any sheets, but I can’t imagine it was done on purpose.
When I got a survey email from Homewood Suites, I completed it and indicated that I was disappointed about the issue of not having sheets. Within 24 hours, I received this response from the Homewood Suites Assistant GM:
Good Morning Mr. Peterson,
Thank you for choosing to stay at The Homewood Suites, Boulder.
I appreciate you taking the time to complete a guest survey. Please accept my sincerest apologies for your bed not being made properly. I have shared your comments with our Housekeeping Department and we are committed to improving our service.
We value your business with Hilton, and look forward to seeing you again soon!
Warm Regards,
Sarah Reall
Assistant General Manager
Kudos to Sarah, this email means a lot. A simple, “I’m sorry you had a problem” and I will make sure that this event is addressed (remediation) is all that is required.
As managers and supervisors, we cannot prevent a mistake or some issue that negatively affects the customer experience. But, we can express empathy and explain how we are making it right. I cannot count how many times I have completed a survey or complained to organizations with whom I frequently use (ie: Delta Airlines and AVIS quickly come to mind) who rarely, if ever, respond to my concerns over their service, and I would be considered a frequent user of their services.
Maybe the larger you get, the harder it is to pull off. But, regardless of the size of your organization, you need to constantly check how you are able to receive feedback on how your services are received, especially when there is an issue and then you should respond, either with a phone call, an email or a comment online. Respond.
The formula is a) empathy and b) remediation. No excuses. Trust me, you will get more positive out of this than ignoring negative feedback. And yet, ignoring customer complaints seems to be more the norm. And with our ability to instantly share about experiences, good or bad, it makes no sense for you to leave this important aspect of service to chance.
The personal apology, particularly one composed by hand, re-instills the very human connection that we have all been on the offending and receiving side of a mistake. #WeAreAllHuman
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