Customer in a Bind: The Broadway Box
If you’ve been reading my posts about service, then you know that I bestow both compliments and critiques and that I typically name the recipients of praise and keep the pans anonymous. (You can check... Continue reading
4 Steps to Clarify Your Assumptions in a Conflict
We may talk about the importance of not making assumptions, but we all make them, automatically, all the time. We tend to believe that other people are more like us than not, which explains some... Continue reading
How to Avoid the Mortal Combat of Personal Criticism
It’s normal to be “conflict-averse.” Most of us tend to try to avoid creating bad feelings among people. We shy away from anything that seems like a secret, can’t be helped, or isn’t worth getting... Continue reading
Can You Handle the Truth of a Compassionate Confrontation?
In some organizations, the fear of overt, explicit conflict -- and the pain and disruption that it can engender -- is even stronger than the fear of leaving existentially damaging problems unaddressed. You may have... Continue reading
5 Steps for Helping Irate Customers Keep Their Cool
Even when customers are irate, companies have another chance to make things right. Irate customers are asking for the relationship to be salvaged -- if they didn’t still want something from the company they’d just... Continue reading
An Example of Successful Service Recovery: A Real Apology
Sister had taken on the responsibility of ordering a big basket of goodies from Zingerman’s, the famous Ann Arbor deli and emporium, as part of the confab and celebration of Parents’ anniversary. Unfortunately, the shipment... Continue reading