Turning a customer mistake into a customer for life

Everybody makes mistakes, and we accept this as a societal construct. In general, we understand that the onus for fixing the mistake lies with the person or group which made it.

For example, people generally just pay parking and speeding tickets, knowing they made mistakes and broke the rules. However, should the same people get charged for cable channels they did not order or get double-charged for a service they purchased, they will expect the cable company or service provider to fix the mistake. It’s only fair.

However, as a business or organization, there is a well-kept secret that the cream of the crop understand.

Great customer service isn’t fair.

As children, we grow up with this notion that life should be fair. Unfortunately, life isn’t fair and recognizing this is one of the key steps towards happiness. One of the major reasons why great customer service is so difficult is because, like life, it isn’t fair.

Ari from Zingerman’s says it well in Zingerman’s Guide to Giving Great Service:

Sadly, service simply isn’t fair. Never has been, never will be. Sometimes I’m really nice to a customer and they’re mean to me. Quite often I go out of my way for a guest and they don’t appreciate my efforts at all. Sometimes considerate customers get less attention than the ones who make our lives difficult by complaining about almost everything we do. None of this is fair. Not fair at all.

In terms of working in customer service, he tells employees that, “‘Fair is another planet” and  we, "unfortunately, are not on it". Since he believes fairness has no place in the service industry, he advises people who have a need for things to be fair to find another job.

Honestly, some people have a lot of trouble with this concept. It’s very difficult for some people to fix mistakes when it’s not their fault or it is not fair to other customers. Is it fair? Absolutely not. Is it great customer service? Absolutely. Is it the right thing to do? That depends on your values.

If you truly value great customer service, then you understand the following statement.

It might not be your fault, but it is now your problem.

There’s a great Charles Swindoll quote that states:

Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.

When a customer comes to you with a problem, what is your  process? For many people and organizations, the first step is to assess the situation and assign blame. If it is you or your organizations’ fault, you solve the problem. If you decide it is the customer’s fault, it is their problem and you can absolve yourself of any guilt, blame, or responsibility.

Many companies go through a lot of trouble to deflect blame or responsibility. Terms and conditions, 30-day return policies, final or as-is sales, and the fine print are all ways that companies can cover their ass and pass blame for dissatisfaction onto the customer. As customers, we generally accept this as well.

Luckily, for those companies who are shining examples of great customer service, they do things quite differently. Lifetime happiness guarantees, unlimited return policies, and no-question refunds are just a few of the policies that customer-focused organizations use.

What they understand is that blame has no place in great service: when a customer is unhappy – regardless of whose fault it is – these companies make it their problem and find a positive way to react.

When a customer makes a mistake and asks for help, you have the opportunity to win that customer for life.

It is pretty easy to justify not helping a customer when the mistake was not yours. It’s only fair, and it can save you time and money in the here and now. However, there is another side of the coin that many people ignore.

First, how did you make that customer feel? It’s never easy to ask for help or admit you’ve made a mistake. When you emphasize that this was their mistake and apologize for not being able to help, how much worse do they feel? In terms of building customer relationships, I’m not sure this is a great strategy.

Second, do you want this person to continue being your customer? If so, not helping and refocusing the blame on them is not the best way to keep a customer coming back.

What great service organizations realize, is that altruistically dealing with all customer problems as your own is also a strategic business decision to keep the customer for longer and to make more money in the longterm. If you have a chance to create that customer for life, why not try?