Can you think of a time when you were the customer, “they” made a mistake, but handled it in such a way that you ended up happy, kept doing business with them, and maybe even recommended them to others?
Isn’t it great when that happens?
Don’t you wish it happened more? It would be a whole lot easier for everybody in the long run.
With the hope of raising the awareness of and promoting the mastery of Mistake Management, we have declared September Mistake Management Month. And we are looking for lemons to lemonade stories.
Here are a few to get things started….about Domino’s, Outback Steak House and Four Corners Restaurant.
Domino’s Pizza in Chapel Hill, NC turned lemons into lemonade
Jean ordered a pizza from Domino’s and expected delivery by 7:00. When the kids complained about being hungry, she realized it was 7:15. Just as she got up to call and check on the pizza, the phone rang. It was Domino’s calling to say her order had been over-looked, the pizza would be there in 30 minutes and it would be free.
In 20 minutes, the free pizza arrived. The delivery person also brought an order of free bread sticks AND a handful of $1.00 off coupons for future use.
Jean thought all of this was very cool, told her friends about it and together they are loyal Domino’s customers.
Outback Steakhouse in Durham, NC turned lemons into lemonade
It was a talkative party of six. Food was ordered and served quickly.
Art flagged the waitress down and said matter of factly, “The menu said these ribs would be tender and juicy. They are tough and dry.”
No fluster, no fuss, Jocelyn said, “I am terribly sorry. I will be happy to bring you something else. What would you like?” And so he ordered a steak.
Within minutes, the manager came to the table with a bowl of soup in hand, apologized for the tough ribs and said, “I brought this(bowl of soup) to tide you over while you wait for your steak.”
Within seconds after the bowl was empty, a plate was delivered. In addition to the steak, there were a few ribs which did look tender and juicy. Jocelyn explained that she wanted him to know that they really did have some like that and apologized again for the mistake.
By the way – none of these apologies were overdone or intrusive. It was clear that this restaurant had a Mistake Management Plan and that Jocelyn had been trained to implement it calmly, quickly and professionally.
Four Corners in Chapel Hill, NC turned lemons into lemonade
It was a party of 7 during the busy, boisterous back to school season in Chapel Hill.
All orders were placed and food came out quickly for everyone but Janet. The waiter said it would be a few minutes. No problem.
A few minutes later, the waiter came out and said the manager was working on her grouper sandwich.
A few “gone to the beach to catch it” jokes went around the table but no one was upset…just curious about what could be taking so long.
Several minutes later, the manager came out with the sandwich. He didn’t give excuses or explanations, just a sincere apology, “This should not have happened. There will be no charge for this and your drinks are on me too – for the whole table.”
And once everyone was done eating, the waiter then brought a huge dessert for the table.
None of this was actually necessary. But it sure was nice. And I imagine it will affect future “where should we go to eat” decisions and recommendations.
Comments on this trilogy
Each of these lemons-to-lemonade stories reveals the presence of a Mistake Management Plan and masterful implementation as far as the customer could see.
To be truly masterful, some action needed to be taken behind the scenes to find out and correct whatever it was that caused the slow pizza, the tough ribs and the slow cooking grouper sandwich. We don’t know if that happened or not. If you know, let us know. If we find out, we’ll let you know.
Meanwhile – will you share a lemons to lemonade story with us? Just type it in the comments box below.
copyright 2010 – Business Class Inc
Jan is a coach, teacher, speaker and author who is passionate about performance management and corporate culture.
Her coaching specialty is working with women in leadership to take charge more effectively, make things happen and inspire others to do the same. And that includes mastering mistake management.
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I am delighted to share a perfect example to Jan’s request for “a time they messed up but managed it well…so well that you have continued to do business with them, will continue to do business with them and would even recommend them to others”: Once upon a time….
I had plotted and planned, what I hoped to be, the perfect surprise birthday party for my husband.
It was a day full of scavenger hunt surprises to his favorite places, food, etc., to be topped off with a nice dinner out with three of our kids….or so he thought.
While he was enjoying a late spring afternoon motorcycle ride, two of the kids and I sped to Sugarland to pick up his favorite carrot cake and drop it by Studio91, the location of the surprise party. But alas….upon arrival at Sugarland, the cake I had ordered over the phone was nowhere in sight!
Katrina Ryan, Sugarland owner and Queen of Calm and Customer Service Extraordinaire, rolled out her red carpet to the three of us. She simply and sincerely shared her regret that a mistake had been made, offered me the choices of cake flavors and sizes she had available (one being a square carrot cake) and invited us to enjoy coffee and gelato while she spend about twenty minutes working her magic.
There were so many successful outcomes to the story, that the missing cake upon arrival was quickly forgotten. Those outcomes included: multiple sample tastings of the glorious gelato selection, the opportunity for the three of us to actually relax for twenty minutes over coffee and decompress from the day, Katrina’s presentation of a lovely and delicious state-fair-winning-carrot-cake…free of charge, my continued referrals and accolades to her personal delivery and commitment to customer service (not to mention the amazing gelato selection, delicious cakes…and did I mention the cupcakes yet? The goodies from Sugarland have been tucked into Easter baskets, given as Welcome Home and Thank You gifts, served in my home at dinner parties, presented to hostesses, etc.
The cake was delivered on time, my husband was completely surprised and delighted, and the cake was a delectable hit to all who savored it. Did she maintain my loyalty? Absolutely…and we all live happily ever after.
Ms. Bolick,
Thank you very much for sending this to my attention – it made my day.
I will forward this over to the Durham location and make sure that I make it a point to personally congratulate Jocelyn and thank her for a job well done.
Sincerely,
Tim Block
Joint Venture Partner
Outback Steakhouse
Could be the greatest blog I have read in my life?!?