You are the owner of a small business providing personal care services. A lady purchases a gift certificate for her fiancé for Valentine’s Day. She returns to you 3 months later asking for a refund as he died.
What do you do? Give her the full refund? Stick to your policy manual and remind her that gift certificates are non-refundable?
Most businesses strive, or say they do, for great customer service and their policies are geared to that. It is in instances like this, however, that the quality of customer service is tested. These are the moments which one did not foresee and which therefore have neither precedent nor manual. These are the exceptions. And they are not simple decisions. The challenge is that there are 2 points of view here – a person (customer) experiencing a highly emotional experience, and the business owner, who is coming from a rational place of building their business. Emotional vs. rational. Can there be a winner? Or better yet, could there be a win-win?
Making the decision requires that one works through the consequences:
- Full refund – customer gets her money back. The business owner loses revenue. But wait – does she? She loses this sale. But she has created an exceptional experience for the customer, one that she just might speak about to friends, family and all who might listen as she works through her grief. Goodwill created, and maybe even future revenue.
- No refund, consistent with the stated conditions of sale – business owner maintains her revenue. In this scenario, she has also created an exceptional experience for the customer, one that she WILL speak about to friends, family and all who might listen to her as she works through her grief. For we are much more likely to speak about poor service experiences than good ones. From this one experience, the hard work the business owner has put into her business is imperilled. Revenue, and certainly goodwill is likely to suffer.
So the decision is simple (#1). End of blog. But wait. What if the business owner is strapped for cash, and, with the best will in the world, just cannot afford to refund the money? Most (all?) business owners experience this at some time or other. And what about precedent? What message is she sending to her staff about dealing with unusual and unforeseen situations? Does she run the risk of giving them carte blanche to hand out refunds in all situations not covered by policy? And where does she draw the line – should she give a refund to someone who broke up with her fiancé, still living, but now ex?
One lesson I am drawing from this is that exceptional service lies in the exceptions. No plan, procedures manual or system can account for every situation. Each customer is unique, with different perspectives, needs, emotions, beliefs. One customer may not even have thought of asking for refund in this time of grief, too devastated to focus on such minutiae. For another, it’s the little things, like a refund, that help them to cope. How one treats with the exceptions are tests of the values that underlie the service philosophy, systems and procedures. Once one is clear on what these values are, then the decision becomes easier. In my experience as a consultant, this is where leaders often fall short, in not explicitly aligning their values with their procedures. Culture (which is the manifestation of our values, stated or unstated) and structure (systems, processes, regulations) are not separate – they are intertwined and co-dependent. But we tend to view them independently and not work through how they affect each other. When they are aligned, then decisions such as the above are clearer. And further, it is easier for our team members to make the right decision i.e. the decision that aligns with and reflects the values underlying the business.
In a heartbeat, I know what I would do in this situation. Do you?
TAKE ONE ACTION THIS WEEK:
Review a key customer service procedure and determine the extent to which it aligns with your values, or the values of the organization (for business owners, they are the same). If not aligned, adjust.
What about a compromise……transferring the gift certificate to her when she is up to it? It says personal services so I assume its massage etc. and if she was giving it as a gift to her finance , a male she obviously wanted him to enjoy it as much as she did?
Dear Sharon
Although I presented 2 options, there are many. The choice really comes down to the underlying values. For example, if one believes in sticking to the rules, then you are unlikely to find compromise acceptable. Hence my point – be clear on your values so that when something is not covered by policy, there is clear guidance.
Blessings
Marguerite
Depends on how significantly they are invested in customer service. Hmmm how deep their understanding of the relationships as you have explained.
Had an interesting experience this Moher’s Day week-end.
Went to a spa to get a pedicure. To be honest I was more keen on sitting in the massage chair and relaxing as I was having a ningling neck pain.
The attendant, in response to my asking, advised that the massage wasn’t working. I asked to move to another chair and she just flatly refused.
I was with my sister and didn’t want to spoil her experience so I finished the pedicure. When I was done, I asked to speak the manager.
She listened, she apologised profusely, we talked; throughout the dialogue she was very open to feedback. Said she appreciated that I chose to complain. Another patron may have just left and never came back. I gave her another chance to change “never” and more importantly how I would share the story.
She offered a full tension massage – I had time) so I accepted. Delighted with that experience.
Reflected, as I was writing this:
Have not shared the story before now. Any impetus to discourage others etc. seemingly dissipated with the massage as did never.
In the conversation we all agreed that the attendant must have been in mad emotional space – she is in fact their best – my sister concurred.
Dear Pat,
Thanks for sharing this experience. Now see this – you haven’t shared the story which ended well. But you might probably have shared it if it had turned out badly. That’s “human nature” which is why business owners have to be so careful about paying excruciating attention to customer experiences. Happy that the owner recovered the experience – she obviously knows that every complaint is a gift.
Abundant blessings
Marguerite
Thank you for sharing Pat! I had an amazing roofing story…roofer showed up with 6 guys all ready to do a $10K new roofing job at our chalet….called me and said he spent two hours on the roof and felt he could do a repair job for $500 instead, apologized that he made an error thinking we needed a new roof! Guys went home and two days later company picked up all the shingles etc! I have told all my neighbours about this incredible story! Another big roofing co quoted $22K and told me I had mold!!! This roofing guy checked and said I didn’t have mold. It was good that you spoke to the Mgr to give them another chance.
What an amazing experience. Clearly this roofer’s core value is INTEGRITY. he lives it. When doing work with organizations around their core values, I often point out that you don’t need to have them written and posted on the wall – they should be visible for all to see in people’s words and deeds.
Blessings
Marguerite
I bought a pair of dress shoes for my son about 5 years ago, from a new shop, never shopped there before. He wore it to a wedding on the Saturday and then to Church on the Sunday, on leaving church the sole of the shoe fell out. I went back to the shop owner all hot and bothered, he was very gentle, apologized gave me back a full refund and told me to keep the shoes and i could repair it if i choose. This shop has become the main shopping stop for my son, he buys all his suits and the majority of his clothes and shoes, there still to this day, the owner now has three locations and i still share his excellent customer service. My son also is a preferred customer and has his own discount card for this shop.
WOW Christina. Thank you for sharing this delightful story. This business owner is clearly committed to creating lifetime customer relationships. And note that he totally trusted you.
Abundant blessings – and to the store owner too!
Marguerite
Hello Marguerite:
Very interesting scenario.
It’s not very complicated to me. At the heart of it, people (your customers) remember how you make them feel.
Thank you Dorothy, for your comment, As the famous saying goes “People will not remember what you said, but they will remember the way you made them feel”. We are all bundles of emotions interacting with other bundles of emotions.
Blessings
Marguerite
Hi Marguerite I have had so many more positive than negative experiences, that I can honestly say that the outcome of a situation depends on how a customer approaches the owner, when a problem arises. In my experience, owners have reacted in a positive manner in resolving my issues, I believe, because I have complained in a quiet, firm but polite manner.
It definitely behooves a business to positively resolve a customer’s issue because in my opinion, word of mouth is far more effective in harming or promoting a business, than the most expensive marketing campaign. Yelp and other review websites are quite popular ,and proof that they work, and are here to stay. Business owners beware.
Hi Eve. Thanks for your input. It’s been my experience as well as a customer that I can “frame” the experience I get. Works like a charm. The challenge in this case though, is that the customer is going through a very, very traumatic experience. Imagine, you purchase a gift for your fiance for Valentine’s Day and 2 months after he dies. WOW. I would be quite freaked out and just flailing around for some sanity. Business owners do have to be very, very careful as word of mouth goes viral so easily. One poor experience can undo years of great service.
Blessings
Marguerite
Thank you for your response Marguerite. I greatly appreciate your personal response to your readers…says a lot about you as a person. No matter the cost to me, if I were that business owner, I would refund her all the money. I believe that transferring the gift to her for later use would be a painful reminder, whereas fully refunding her the money closes that “chapter”. I also think she may never use it, and therefore never return to the business. Fully refunding her ends that particular transaction, leaving her free to return for her own personal experience at a later date.
Thanks Eve – I really love these conversations with my readers. It’s my intention when I write not to be “right” but to share my thoughts and hear the thoughts of others. So I really do appreciate when people respond.
As regards your solution – I concur. I would have IMMEDIATELY refunded her, with the cheque/cash in a condolence card, no questions asked, with lots of hugs.
Blessings
Marguerite
You are most welcome, thanks Marguerite. I very much appreciate your forum because I too love these conversations. I look forward to your next scenario and others’ thoughts, because I do believe we can learn from each other when we take the time to listen to, and communicate with, each other.
So many comments on this blog. Thanks to all who took the time. I suggested at the end that you review a key customer service procedure and determine the extent to which it aligns with your values, or the values of the organization (for business owners, they are the same). If not aligned, adjust. What might this look like? Here’s a blog I wrote last year on my experience in India, that describes how values are lived: Things do Work in India… Here are some Lessons