Do you realize that mending fences and winning back unhappy or angry customers take much more than just a text, or an email apology?
Many customer service providers make the mistake of relying on the ubiquitous hi-tech tools like the cell phone and computers to send their regrets over mistakes and protocol transgressions. The fact is, people will react more positively to a person that they can interact with. Seeing a person who will apologize with contrite eyes and a gentle voice is a hundred times more effective than just reading a text or an email.
In some cases, a formal letter of apology with a symbolic atonement will produce stunningly great results. A case in point is the incident which involved one of my staff members who left an important message to the wrong person and did not reach a group of executives on time. The group of executives went to the venue of our scheduled seminar on the date scheduled only to be told that it was rescheduled due to the unavailability of our Australian speaker.
I took full responsibility for this carelessness and wrote the CEO of the organization with my deep regrets and enclosed a book and a DVD of our speaker for his corporation’s use. The CEO responded warmly and thanked me sincerely and promised to send his people to our future seminars.
Just take the bull by the horns and own up to your mistakes and offer more than a lame “I’m sorry.”
