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When there is a mistake or mishap, explain what steps you will take and when you will get back in touch with the results.


• Help them find ways to UP service. Imagine you are going up a ski lift and accidentally drop one of your gloves or ski poles into the woods below. At Deer Valley Ski Resort in Utah, the staff help you find the missing item and then give you a coupon for a free hot chocolate. Ski on! A new Italian restaurant announced their grand opening with great fanfare in the press. Every table was reserved weeks in advance. On opening night, the ovens broke down and could not be restarted! Te restaurant served an elegant buffet of cold dishes and plenty of wine — all free!


“And here’s an example from my own personal experience,” shares Kaufman. “I had a bad experience on an international airline many years ago. I wrote in to complain. Tey sent me back a very nice letter with a $50 voucher attached! Is that a crazy waste of money? Not at all. It cost me hundreds more to buy a ticket and use the voucher. Plus, they got me back on board another flight to give the airline another chance. Today, years later, I am still a frequent flyer.


“These are great examples of businesses going the extra mile for their customers, and it’s important that you help your employees develop this kind of thinking. In your next staff meeting, review a few customer service recovery interactions, even those that went well. Ten, have your staff brainstorm ways the recovery could have been improved.”


• Train them to tell customers what they will do. When there is a mistake or mishap, explain what steps you will take and when you will get back in touch with the results. Tank them for giving you the opportunity to set things right.


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“Of course, the first step when a mistake has been made, or even just when a customer perceives that a mistake was made, is to apologize,” says Kaufman.


“Once you’ve apologized, provide any useful information you can about what will happen next. Ask them if they have any questions and answer them to the best of your ability. If you don’t have an answer, let them know what steps you’re going to take to find it.


“And finally, show you are sincere about your commitment to do well in the areas the customer values,” he adds. “At the very least, you can say, ‘I’m going to make sure everyone in the company hears your story. We don’t want this to happen again.’ When you express the company’s desire to improve, you start on the path to rebuilding its credibility with the customer.”


Encourage them to develop their own signature service touch. Sometimes small service touches can have a big impact. Here’s a fundamental truth of service: Small changes can lead to big leaps in customer perception — and they don’t have to be costly at all.


“For example, Air Mauritius had captains start greeting passengers as they board the plane,” says Kaufman.


“Tis small gesture creates a huge impression of welcome and respect for passengers. It also asked captains to provide memorable information as they fly over certain areas — like descriptions of cities, landmarks, volcanoes and so forth. Tis literally turned flights into uniquely guided tours. Passengers loved these changes.”


• Provide a weekly service thought. Post or email a message about the importance of service or how to improve service each week. It can be as simple as an inspiring quote or a link to an article with an example of great service.


“Tis is something that LUX* Maldives has done very successfully,” tells Kaufman. “At the resort, every Monday morning the Training and QA Teams share a ‘weekly service thought,’ which highlights the importance of service or an idea around how to improve


service. Not only does the weekly thought inspire employees, it also gets everyone on the same page and discussing the same service ideas.


“Te resort also sends out a daily quote. And they’ve become so popular that if the resort manager misses a day, he gets calls from his staff members asking where the daily quote is. Tey value getting this daily motivation on how to be better and serve others better.”


• Emphasize service with new hires. Unfortunately, many company orientation programs are far from uplifting. Often, they are little more than robotic introductions: This is your desk; this is your password; those are your colleagues; these are the tools, systems and processes we use; I am your boss; and if you have any questions, ask. Welcome to the organization! Now get to work. Tese basic introductions and inductions are important, but they don’t connect new employees to the company or the service culture in a welcoming and motivating way.


“LUX* Maldives structures its orienta- tion program around service,” says Kaufman. “Tey don’t waste time boring new hires with policies and procedures. Instead, 60 percent of new hire orientation is about service and providing a quality guest experience. And orientation is just the beginning of a LUX* employee’s service education.


“Developing service-minded, service- driven employees will be worth every ounce of energy you put into it. When you take steps to build a strong service team, everyone is fully engaged, encouraging each other, improving the customer experience and making the company more successful.”


To learn more about UP! Your Service, please visit UpYourService.com.


To learn more about Ron Kaufman, please visit RonKaufman.com.


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