Successful Service Recovery Strategies (4)

(continued from last post)

4. Take Action! Fix The Problem!
Immediate action should be taken to fix the problem for the customer. This might be easy in some situations where you just have to replace the product, but it might be difficult to manage services (since services are intangible).

For instance how do you fix the problem of a client who was not pleased with your hotel services, a passenger losing his baggage at the airport, the loss of a loved one in a hospital setting?
The next two steps will help to manage such difficult situations.

5. Follow Up.
Follow-up on the problem and make sure it does not repeat itself. Service recovery is not just about fixing the problem but making sure it does not reoccur by proper follow-up.
After follow-up, make additional phone call a day or two to know how they are coping and do everything within the organizations policy to make they're satisfied. And when you hear “thank you”, then you are on your way to re-gaining their confidence in your service.

6. Provide compensation
There are times you have to provide refund, a token or other form of compensation depending on the extent of the problem to pacify an angry customer. And this should be done in a friendly manner to help you achieve service discovery.