Happy New Year! I hope you took some time off to celebrate, relax and rejuvenate.  I sure did.  I high tailed it out of town and spent a long weekend with some good friends in northern California.  It was a blast. 
 
I came home just in time to co-host the first call in our new program Outrageously Profitable Systems.  It’s always exciting to watch something you’ve created come to life.
 
When all of the holiday hubbub is in full swing, it’s easy for companies to get overwhelmed and over burdened. When this happens it’s easy to find yourself on the receiving end of a mistake.  Everyone knows that accidents happen, but it’s how a company handles the mistake that ultimately matters.  We’re kicking off the year, with a new article about how to keep customers happy when the worst happens.
 
Enjoy,
Beth

Here I am bringing in the new year with my good friends Tracy and Pat Monteforte, Todd and Carla Falcone and their kids Gianni and Joey.  Tracy and Pat had a great party, then toured us around their town. It was a fantastic trip.

What’s that saying?  “Stuff” happens?  In a world where no one is perfect, we know mistakes will be made and accidents will happen.  We do our best to avoid them, but the harsh reality is that at some point “stuff” is going to happen.
Knowing that a mistake is inevitable it makes sense to put policies and systems in place to be prepared for these accidents.  What you put in place for your company really depends on your individual situation.  But, no matter what you do, remember people typically want to feel heard and taken care of. 
 
I recently experienced a few “stuff” happens moments.  Some handled very well, others not so much.  Here are 3 examples of how handling or not handling your clients experiences can affect your business.
 
The A+ Experience Before I headed up north to my a holiday party I decided to treat myself so I ran off to the local Ritz Carlton for a manicure, pedicure and a professional make-up application.  When I booked the appointment, I told them time was an issue as I was catching a plane.  I arrived on time, my manicurist was not so punctual.  I waited for 15 minutes when the spa manager came in to talk to me.  She explained what was going on, what was going to happen and offered to get me something to eat or drink. 
 
By the time we got started, I’d been waiting for 30 minutes and quite frankly, I wasn’t so pleased.  A couple hours later, I was polished, concealed and running a good 35 minutes behind schedule. As I was thinking, “I probably won’t come here again”, I was told that because of my wait the fee for my manicure and pedicure ($65 each, which is a hefty fee for some nail polish) were waived.  It was completely unexpected and that one grand gesture has made me a raving fan.  I wouldn’t hesitate to go back because I know that my time and feelings are considered and taken care of. 
 
The C+ Experience I booked a hotel room for an upcoming business trip. It was a slightly complicated reservation, a night under a group rate, a couple of nights with points and a night with a reduced rate if I pre-paid. I agreed to pre-pay the night, got my confirmation and went on my way.
 
A couple of weeks later I notice the charge on my card was 4 times what it should have been so I called to clear it up.  The first person I talked to said she couldn’t help me and passed me to another.  The second person said I needed to call someone else.  When I sighed and expressed my frustration with having to tell the story a third time, she called the third person and said it was taken care of.
 
Further follow-up showed that the problem had NOT been cleared up so I eventually had to make that third phone call and explain…again…and be irritated…again.  It was finally cleared up, they acknowledged their mistake, the manager apologized profusely, but it still cost me more time than it should have.  Still, this will be one of those experiences I don’t remember in a month.
 
The F Experience One of my vendors made an error.  They apparently lost an order.  Again, mistakes happen, we simply let them know a mistake had been made and we needed it fixed. Instead of an apology, we got a huffy attitude and an excuse about how they were so busy with other clients. The same thing happened again about two weeks after the first incident. They’ve made it pretty clear that they are not inerested in our business so we’re looking for a replacement. I’ll keep you posted.
 
So ask yourself, what grade does your company get for handling errors?  Setting policies and systems around handling errors can make or break the way your clients see you
 
© 2010 Beth Schneider, Process Prodigy, Inc.

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Beth Schneider, President of Process Prodigy Inc., www.processprodigy.com, along with her team of highly sought after operations consultants, reveal the insider secrets billion-dollar corporations pay thousands of dollars for. Specializing in process creation, Process Prodigy tools and techniques have helped entrepreneurs increase productivity by as much as 600%, and revenues by as much as 250%. Visit www.processprodigy.com/ezine and grab your FREE systems starter kit valued at $297.00.