Think of a time when you've been disappointed by a company...a time when you had reasonable expectations but the company failed to deliver. What did you want to happen?
Disney Restores Relationships
It had been a long day at Disney. A good one but a long one. We'd had a great few days there already and while exhausted, we were filled with Disney Magic. My kids wanted one more ride that night because we were scheduled for the "sad bus" (back to the airport) the next day. So even though it was quite late in the evening, we headed over to Splash Mountain, the only ride they hadn't had a chance to do at the park.
The line wasn't too long, maybe 30 minutes at that time of night. We moved forward at a good pace with the kids starting to hum with the anticipation of a new ride for them. Weaving through the line, we got to the point where we were one corner away from the launch. We couldn't see it but it was right there!
Then...full stop. Nothing moves.
Ok, it happens. We'll wait a bit. But that bit turned into a moment, which turned into a while, which turned into what felt like an eternity. There wasn't anything official told to us. Having no info was quite frustrating. Tell us what's going on! Then the "line-chatter" starts about a mechanical delay but nothing official. Finally, after about 30 minutes (we're after 11 pm at this point), the line staff unceremoniously marches us back out of the line, telling us the ride was closed.
What a bust. My kids were so disappointed and I felt awful for them. I know...it's "just a ride" but it was important to them, so it was important to me. Plus, to sit there with no information was so frustrating, so...well...not Disney.
A burst of sleep that night and we were back at the park the next morning. We had to leave by mid-day so really didn't have much time in the park. Like a good Customer Experience & Ops guy, I decided to stop by "guest relations" just to tell them what happened. It was so unlike any other experience we'd had at Disney that I wanted to let them know.
As I approached, a wide smile of one of the cast members greeted me. "How can I help you?" I told the story and that I wanted him to know that it would've been so much better if we'd been told what was going on.
And this is where Disney shined.
He came around the counter to get closer to me. "Oh no! I'm so sorry that happened. I can't imagine how frustrated you must feel." He asked me more questions about what happened. He also asked about the rest of our trip, deeply wanting to understand what we'd experienced. He went on to acknowledge how he knows how important it is to parents to be able to give their kids great moments. He discerned that part of my frustration was simply not being able to give my kids something I wanted to give them.
He focused on who I was, what I was experiencing and how I was feeling. He listened.
Only then did he offer a solution, which was "front of line" passes to make sure we could get the experience before we left that day. That fixed the issue. However, he went further. Through his earlier questions, he knew the characters my kids really loved. He offered a specific gift related to both of those characters that I could give to my kids. He gave me a way to be the hero to them! I was floored! What a turnaround!
He didn't just fix the issue. He restored my relationship. Disney makes a big deal of this service principle. It's one I've experienced and one I emphatically espouse with my teams.
Will your company restore relationships or just fix issues? Do the 3 things below if you truly want to restore a customer relationship.
Listen First. Act Second.
When a customer reaches out our first action should be to listen. Listen to their frustration. Let them tell the story. Don't defend. Don't explain. Just listen and ask questions. Disney didn't tell me, "Well, sir, you know that safety is our #1 priority and our rides need to operate at full health for us to allow it to operate." That's 100% true but not what I would want to hear in that moment.
When a customer presents an issue to you, the first thing they want is simply to be heard.
Then act. Act by asking probing questions. Get an understanding of who the customer is, what they experienced and what will truly restore the relationship. Fixing an issue is usually easy. Restoring the relationship takes a true human connection.
Surprise & Enchant
Mike Kendall, Managing Director at The Customer Lab, recently published a good article about designing an overall customer experience framework: 10 Essentials for Survival in the Customer Driven Economy. In one section, Mike calls out the need for a Closed Loop Feedback (CLF) process. I completely agree.
When you have a well-functioning CLF process in place, you have a great opportunity to Surprise and Enchant the customer. I can't tell you how many times after we called, a customer was shocked(!) saying, "I can't believe you guys actually read my survey! Who does that? This is great!"
The surprise actually creates trust. The shocked (in a good way) customer now opens up to give you great information about their experience. They'll work with you to identify the solution
"I can't believe you guys actually read my survey! Who does that? This is great!"
Enchant (verb) - fill someone with great delight; charm. I chose the word enchant specifically. You don't hear it used much in this context but it captures the spirit of how to restore a customer's relationship with the company.
After a broken customer experience, wouldn't you want to have the customer experience "great delight"? Find something to offer...an experience, a handwritten card...something that will truly delight the customer. It's a bit of a dark secret in CX but frequently a disappointed customer whose relationship is restored often feels better about a company than a customer who received a steady-state great experience. Disney gave me a couple of trinkets for my kids but those are the center of my restored relationship!
Nobody designs a process in order to disappoint customers. However, when it happens, you hold a great opportunity to restore a relationship and create a raving fan! Don't miss that opportunity.
Frequently a disappointed customer whose relationship is restored often feels better about a company than a customer who received a steady-state great experience
Get Them Back on the Log Ride
A former colleague of mine leads great Customer Advocacy teams. These are the teams that take escalated customer complaints, often while still "in-process" with the company. She speaks of getting customers back on the log ride. Ultimately, you do need to fix the issue. Get them back on the experience they want. She created a process that captures the customer's experience and then works with operations teams to get to root cause and the ideal solution. Her team tenaciously fights to find a solution for the customer. Customers knew we were fighting for them.
Each company will be different in how this is done but ultimately you want your customers back on the log ride. You want them fully restored with a root cause fix, not just surface polish. An apology is important but in most cases, isn't enough. Discover what it will take to fix the issue (within reason of course...we, too, experienced the unreasonable demands and would work to find the right fix for both customer and company) and then fix it.
Don't just fix issues. Restore Relationships.
Listen first | Act Second. Surprise & Enchant. Get them back on the log ride.
This is how you will restore relationships. It's less of a 1, 2, 3 action-set and more of a mind-set. If your approach focuses solely on a transactional moment in order to get to the next one in line, you'll just fix issues. If you approach a disappointed customer with the spirit of relationship restoration, you will find a way to connect and restore. THIS is how you'll get life long customers who will tell that story to everyone they meet. Your business will grow exponentially.
Rick Denton solves customer experience and business challenges. In his leadership roles with Capital One, JCPenney, Washington Mutual and several other industry leaders, Rick created customer obsessed cultures, high performance execution systems, and clear outcome-oriented alignment. Rick delivered these results across multiple industries and company size profiles both domestically and internationally. As a Principal at EX4CX, Rick helps clients create CX visions, metrics and culture while driving operational improvement, achieving process excellence and customer success.
Rick believes the best meals are served outside and require a passport.
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