I’m frustrated!
My day started with taking my fourteen-year-old Chocolate Lab to the Vet that we have used for our two dogs for several years. At fourteen, our expectations are realistic for the Lab, and we simply want to make her comfortable for the duration and we were clear about that once we arrived. The Vet started by telling us that the previous advice we received regarding her medication was wrong. The previous advice was provided by another Vet within the same practice. He mentioned that he didn’t know why his colleague had made that recommendation as they went paperless recently and he no longer had charts to carry into an appointment. It was then recommended that we have her undergo some other tests which was not congruent with our desires for our beloved pet. I ended up waiting for ten minutes in the examining room for a Veterinarian who never returned. He didn’t tell me the visit had ended and that I should proceed to the front desk to pick up the remaining prescriptions and pay. Fortunately, the person working the desk was pleasant and very competent and put a positive end on the otherwise less then positive experience.
After leaving the Vet, I placed a call into the tire dealer where I recently purchased a new set. My previous experiences there were always good, but something was off this time. Aside from some of the verbal communication that just didn’t sit right, when I initially picked it up, the wheels on my car were covered in the white lubricant that they use to get the tires on the rim. That cost me about 15 minutes in the car wash. But the real issue was that the lead weights that they use to high speed balance the wheels had spun off, twice. This morning’s call was to complain about the second time. The Manager was barely apologetic, and less then accommodating in rectifying the situation. Extremely frustrated, I hung up and called another location of the same brand of tire dealer to see if I could get some satisfaction. I got the autoresponder saying that all representatives were busy, but if I stayed on the line my call would be answered in the order it was received. After being on hold for several minutes, the call disconnected.
By 9:00 am, I was sworn to find another Vet who is competent, and to never return to the same tire dealer regardless of location.
Really?
Yes, really! Even though the Vet had kept my extended family healthy over the years, and that the tire dealer had done a great job in the past (and I really love the tires), I am done with both. Here’s why.
We are more receptive to the negative than positive. We are hardwired that way from birth, and our North American upbringings support it. A bad combination of nature and nurture. In any event, several positive experiences can be completely undone by one negative experience.
We have an innate need to be in control. When we feel out of control like it did in both of the days situations, we tend to get a little whacky and potentially irrational. That leads to potentially irrational decisions. To gain back our equilibrium, we need to take back control, and that may manifest itself in several ways including anger, yelling, or the decision to end long standing relationships.
It’s all about the recovery. We all make mistakes. Our businesses all have service mishaps. It’s how we handle them that defines our customer relationships. My poor Vet is completely unaware that they contradicted themselves and that they didn’t hear the request of the patient (patients’ owner in this case). My fault for not being more assertive, but guess what? I’m like most clients so we need to have mechanisms for obtaining feedback. Most of the time we know. The Manager of the tire dealer knew. I walked in with a dozen pieces of lead that fell off in my garage. Regardless, neither tried to apologize, accommodate me, or rectify the situation to my satisfaction.
What can we learn from these experiences so that we don’t suffer the same fate as the Vet or Mechanic?
1. Look at things as if seeing them for the first time. Call the main number at your office now and once a month from hereon. Likewise, test the “Contact Us” page on your website. Can you be reached? Do these mechanisms provide the customer experience you want? Your reception area? Your receptionist?
2. Understand the difference between the fronts tage and the backstage. We are performers and we need to understand that our audience does not want to see what goes on backstage. They come to see an amazing show. If going paperless or other efficiency or risk management procedures don’t enhance the show or experience for the audience, they need to stay behind the curtain.
3. Listen. Clients need to be heard and feel like they are in control. Even if your advice is not what they ultimately want to hear, you’ll be able to tie it back to their objectives in a way where they can understand the congruence.
4. Develop a procedure for obtaining feedback. A colleague in peer group I’m involved with is a cosmetic surgeon. His practice has developed a satisfaction review at the end of every procedure encompassing not only the results of the procedure but the entire experience. They are not done until they’ve done everything to receive the highest ratings. In contrast, my Vet didn’t even make it known that the visit was over. An easy fix.
5. Small details matter. The tire dealer didn’t notice the white mess on my wheels, but it was the
first thing I noticed when I picked my car up. A typo on the cover letter can set the stage and
negate the great work in the product behind it. A mentor of mine ran a very successful dental
lab. Although the technical aspects of the crowns had to be top notch, he attributed much of
their success to the packaging that they used when sending their product to the Dentist.
6. It’s all about the recovery. Mistakes will happen, and some service experiences will be less than
satisfactory. Treat these as opportunities to enhance the relationship by making it positive. It’s
how we handle these situations that speaks to our values, demonstrates our character, and leaves no question of our integrity.