𝐃𝐎 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐘 𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐄?

The dealership emailed: thieves could now get in through the headlight and steal my car.

A $70 anti-theft device would fix it.

Good deal.

They booked me in.

I turned up on the day, on time.

The part wasn't there.

Lots of apologetic noises. "We'll book you in again."

1.5 hours and a nudge of the fuel gauge later, I was home.

Time I'll never get back.

If a client turned up to meet me and I said, "Sorry, nothing's ready, come back another day," I'd be out of business.

And rightly so.

𝐘𝐞𝐭 𝐛𝐢𝐠 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐮𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦.

The only thing necessary for poor service to continue is for good clients to do nothing.

So I rang the manager, Ray. I had my speech ready. (I was angling for a $20 petrol voucher.)

Ray stopped me: "Pete, you're right, we dropped the ball. We're going to fit the device for you for free."

Wind out of my sails.

Then: "One of my team lives near you. They'll collect the car and return it later, so your time isn't impacted any more than it already has been."

He didn't just fix the problem.

He fixed my frustration.

I went from frustrated customer to raving fan in one phone call.

The stats that will shock you
𝐃𝐨 𝐚 𝐛𝐚𝐝 𝐣𝐨𝐛: 𝟒𝟖% 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮.

𝐃𝐨 𝐚 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐣𝐨𝐛: 𝟔𝟒% 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮.

𝐃𝐨 𝐚 𝐛𝐚𝐝 𝐣𝐨𝐛, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐟𝐢𝐱 𝐢𝐭: 𝟕𝟒% 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮!

Illogical? Here's why it works:

Good service is invisible.

Nobody tells a story about things going to plan.

A mistake reveals your character.

Low expectations + generous fix = delight.

Trust is proven, not promised.

But don't plan to fail.

Most unhappy customers never complain.

They just leave.

And the best fix is proactive:

Ray's colleague should have rung me first.

·      Mistakes are inevitable.

·      Indifference is a choice.

·      And customers: speak up.

·      Give good businesses the chance to be great.

So, do you really care?

What's the best service recovery you've ever experienced?

Tell me.