March 2008

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following article was first published in the Eastern Daily Press' 'The Business'  on 19 March 2008</I></div> <bR> <div> <B>Sorry is the hardest word</B></div> <bR> <div> Over four years ago, I wrote in this column about a particularly frustrating and annoying example of poor customer service I had experienced with a faulty laptop computer.  At the heart of the matter was the refusal of the manufacturer to accept responsibility for a defective machine and the way in which their customer service representatives treated me as I sought resolution of my problems.  It took over six weeks before a Call Centre Manager finally uttered, reluctantly and insincerely, the words “I'm sorry”.   I'm certain that their staff had been taught their customer service skills by people who seem to believe that even a sympathetic `sorry' is tantamount to a full admission of liability and, therefore, the possibility of litigation.  I fear that too much legal behaviour today is being imported from my home country across the pond.</div> <bR> <div> As customers, most of us understand and accept that from time to time things will go wrong.  A television will break down, or a washing machine develop a leak.  Clothes ordered over the internet or via mail order will arrive in the wrong size or colour.  It's generally not the problem itself that angers the majority of people - provided the problem isn't simply sheer incompetence or rudeness when being served; it's the response we get when we try to get our complaint dealt with.  Interminably long menu-driven telephone sessions trying to get through to the right department; clunky, inefficient customer service websites with FAQs (frequently asked questions) that inevitably don't answer your specific question; call centre personnel who can't deal with your query and who pass you from pillar to post trying to find someone who is willing to try.  </div> <bR> <div> What people with a problem want is, first, for someone to display some empathy - to make a human connection: “I'm sorry you have a problem”.  Then they need to hear that the other person wants to help them resolve the problem: “Now, what can we do to fix this for you?”.  Those two simple phrases can help make the whole process easier and put the complainant in a much more cooperative mood.</div> <bR> <div> A colleague recently showed me a letter he'd received from the Managing Director of a highly successful internet marketing company who had apparently had some difficulties maintaining their excellent customer service levels during last year's busy Christmas period.  He made a detailed and candid apology to all of their customers, admitting the company had let them down and explaining some of the actions that were being taken to ensure there was not a repeat of the episode.  He made no excuses and acknowledged that some customers may, as a result, choose to stop trading with his company.  But, because of his being so honest and open, I suspect most of their customers will, like my colleague, be impressed favourably and will not only continue buying from them, but will repeat this story to their friends and colleagues as well.</div> <bR> <div> So, if your business lets a customer down, start fixing the problem by saying `sorry' and then do whatever it takes to ensure you don't make the same mistake again.  If you try the other style, the main liability you'll face is customers deserting you.</div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" width=180 BGCOLOR="#CC3333" TEXT="#080000"> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>