Making Things Right

Haggar Clothing has a cute series of ads on You Tube that strikes a chord with me. We moved into a new home recently and my interactions with both the cable company and satellite tv were anything but pleasant. Just watching the above ad reminded me of the basic premise of their "service" which is basically you have to sacrifice a day of your life if you want to do business with us. This is sort of understandable given the fact that they have no real way of knowing how complex any individual installation and set up will be. What seems inexcuseable is the lack of communication when they are running late and outside the 4 or 5 hour time window given. It's then over-the-top when they show up past the time window and without the necessary material... but wait there's more... do they put you to the top of the list... Nope... you have to wait another week to 10 days for a new appointment.

...getting them to bill you for what their representative agrees to by phone has been another challenge. My wife has spent unbelievable amounts of time on the phone trying to get the billing correct.

All companies give poor service from time to time. The difference is that the great ones... as the Haggar ad suggests, "Make It Right". Making it right may mean a heart felt apology. But it also may mean providing a more tangible recognition or compensation for the value of the customers time. A few years ago I totally blew off an appointment. I was so embarrassed that I caused 5 people to lose an hour of their valuable time that I went out and bought each a $20.00 gift certificate to a local restautant. I paid for it out of my own pocket.

I have blogged on Service Recovery before. Starbucks has given me gift certificates on more than one occassion for blowing it. They clearly get it and empower their people to make things right. Meryn's Department Stores sadly went out of business last year after the founder sold it to a group who didn't have the same attention to service and detail. I still vividly remember the Christmas when the Mervyns clerk gave me 15% off my purchase for waiting in a line he decided was unreasonably lengthy. That gesture bought my business for several years.

Go "Make It Right" in your business... and if you get a creative impulse from the You Tube next time you have problems with your cable service provider, so be it.