How to Embrace the Power and Possibility of Service Recovery | Ep. 89

Serve Conscious

This episode is for leaders and aspiring rockstars at the organizational levels of service in addition to restaurant and hospitality domains. It's based on an article I wrote for Joel Bailey's Society of Service.
Why are beautifully-recovered service experiences often considered the best ones? Because service isn’t technical, it’s emotional. Any service-oriented business is in the market of emotions. And customer journeys that dip and recover offer the most memorable emotional arc. Emotionally-charged reviews and stories to friends are more likely to follow from such a scenario.

Customer loyalty is more likely to emerge from a good recovery because the organization basically stress-tested itself in front of them and revealed that not only are they awesome when things are good, but they’re even better when things inevitably go wrong. They can be trusted to handle anything.

A truly effective service recovery can’t just feel like another protocol being followed and it can't even just be a gesture of, “What can we do for you beyond what we normally offer?” It has to be driven by, “How can we compassionately see your unique struggle and offer you something tailored to your truest needs?”

Protocols and policies are nothing in comparison to what your people on the frontline have learned (or intuited) will delight their customers on an individual level. Your employees are more likely to do the intelligent thing when they are given the respect, space and trust to do so. It’s being bogged down with policies that make them freeze up and not know how to act.
Rather than punishing errors, it's much more effective to focus on enabling your team to improve the situation, and reward them for recovering, learning and growing. They will improve and your customer loyalty and happiness will accelerate.
Recommended Pairings:
Handle mistakes like an emotion master with this Guided Self-Compassion Practice

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Music: "Night Owl" by Broke For Free