Transcript

What does an umbrella have to do with customer service?
We’re going to figure that out together right now.

True confession; even at Flying Chimp Media, we make mistakes. We have problems and those problems can be felt by our clients.

But we have a simple formula for handling customer service problems and I’m going to share that with you.

Own it. It doesn’t matter if the problem is caused by a website hosting service or a printer. If we arranged it or recommended them, we own it. That means not only apologizing to the client but recognizing the impact on them.

Fix it. Part of owning it is prioritizing getting this problem fixed as quickly as possible. So stop what you’re doing or assign internal assets to work on this for the client.

Close it. Closing out a customer service problems doesn’t mean YOU think the problem is resolved. Closing it means you personally called the client and they agree the problem is resolved. You need to verify resolution with them. This is also a good time to offer some compensation if you can or send a gift card, bottle of wine, whatever you think fits.

So what happened to that umbrella? Well, that’s the secret to customer service. It’s easy to look like a great service organization on a clear sunny day. Nothing is really testing you. But the mark of great customer service is what you do when the skies open up and pours down problems on your team.