Seth’s daughter, Sarah, had missed some swim classes, and Seth remembered that the aquatics center had several make-up classes available late in the summer. So Seth pulled up the class schedule on his phone, found one that worked on his and Sarah’s schedules, and planned to attend a session the upcoming Friday.
When the make-up day arrived, Seth and Sarah entered the aquatics center, walked up to the receptionist, and asked if Sarah could use one of her make-up classes that day. The receptionist, Roberta, asked if they had called or e-mailed in advance to confirm Sarah could drop-in for a class, and Seth responded “No. Was I supposed to?”
While Seth had remembered the fact that make-up classes were offered, he didn’t remember (and didn’t check) the policy that stated parents had to contact the aquatics center first to reserve a spot. Seth messed up; he was wrong.
Now, many employees may roll their eyes, say something under their breath, or simply say that they couldn’t help because Seth didn’t follow the policy.
Instead, Roberta reaffirmed the policy, said that “unfortunately I can’t guarantee we have an opening today,” but shared “I hope there is space available. Let me check.” Roberta smiled, was hopeful, but didn’t make any promises. She didn’t criticize the customer. She just educated the customer, empathized, and excused herself to go check with the instructor about availability.
Seth turned to Sarah, smiled and said “let’s cross our fingers!”
A couple minutes later, Roberta returned and was excited to tell Seth and Sarah “Yes! We have a spot for you today!”
Sometimes the customer is wrong. But that doesn’t mean our attitude needs to go negative. Sometimes we can correct the customer, and do it so professionally that the customer is understanding and hopeful, not frustrated and angry.
Don’t let a customer error create your own customer service error.
Signup for FREE Tips! Contact Us More Resources for You Visit Our Home Page
