Definition

In customer service, instance of contact or interaction between a customer and a firm (through a
product, sales force, or visit) that gives the customer an opportunity to form (or change) an
impression about the firm


In recent years, mature companies with far-flung networks of frontline sales staffbanks,
retailers, airlines, and incumbent telecom providers, for examplehave devoted a great deal of
money and effort to retaining their current customers. As many academic studies have noted, the
costs of doing so tend to be much lower than those of acquiring new ones.
The success of this strategy ultimately depends on expanding the breadth and depth of customer
relationships and on translating the resulting loyalty into higher sales of goods and services, as
well as a healthier bottom line. We believe that many businesses are falling short.
Although companies are investing record amounts of money in traditional loyalty programs, in
customer-relationship-management (CRM) technology, and in general service-quality
improvements, most of these initiatives end in disappointment. According to Forrester research,
only 10 percent of business and IT executives surveyed strongly agreed that business results
anticipated from implementing CRM were met or exceeded.
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What's regularly missing, in our experience, is the spark between the customer and frontline staff
membersthe spark that helps transform wary or skeptical people into strong and committed
brand followers. That spark and the emotionally driven behavior that creates it explain how great
customer service companies earn trust and loyalty during "moments of truth": those few
interactions (for instance, a lost credit card, a canceled flight, a damaged piece of clothing, or
investment advice) when customers invest a high amount of emotional energy in the outcome.
Superb handling of these moments requires an instinctive frontline response that puts the
customer's emotional needs ahead of the company's and the employee's agendas.
Executives typically struggle to transform the way a company responds to its customers. Some
wrongly assume that the quality of emotional responseswhat the author Daniel Goleman
famously called "EQ," or "emotional intelligence"
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is so deeply programmed at birth or in
childhood that it is impossible to influence. Others mistakenly try to script what are by definition
spontaneous events, thereby removing authenticity and empathy from the customer experience.
These missteps make it hard to foster appropriate behavior, to enhance the intrinsic emotional
intelligence of employees, and to extend across the whole front-line network the excellence of
exemplary individuals, branches, and offices.
During our work with companies, we have found a number of practical ways for them to
overcome these challenges. In any industry that offers a service (or sells a product with an
"embedded" service element), there are moments when the long-term relationship between a
business and its customers can change significantlyfor better or for worse. By supporting and
developing the frontline emotional intelligence of its employees, it can ensure that more of those
moments have a positive outcome.

importance
moment of truth is important as that precise instant when the customers come into contact with any
aspect of your business and on the basis of that contact form an opinion about the quality of your
service and the quality of your product.
What is a 'critical incident'?

A critical incident need not be a dramatic event: usually it is an incident which has significance for you. It
is often an event which made you stop and think, or one that raised questions for you. It may have made
you question an aspect of your beliefs, values, attitude or behaviour. It is an incident which in some way
has had a significant impact on your personal and professional learning.

In the university setting, a critical incident might include:

an aspect of your project or group work that went particularly well
an aspect of your project or group work that proved difficult
a piece of work that you found particularly demanding
a piece of work which increased your awareness, or challenged your understanding, of social justice
issues; or
an incident involving conflict, hostility, aggression or criticism (Fook & Cooper, 2003).

In the clinical setting, a critical incident might include:

a medical emergency
an unusual condition
a difficult situation
a communication problem (eg. with a patient or colleague)
an interaction with a patient which made an impression on you (either positive or negative)
an incident that made you feel inadequate in some way
a time when you felt confronted; or
an incident which made you think differently, or caused you to question your assumptions or beliefs.

Critical incidents may relate to issues of communication, knowledge, treatment, culture, relationships,
emotions or beliefs.

What is Service Recovery -- And Why Do You Need It?
Servcie recovery is how do you pull a customer from hell to
heaven in 60 seconds or less. You need to apologize, solve the
problem, compensate with something of value, create a
service recovery process and train employees. This article
will define service recovery, detail the importance to the
bottom line, identify role models and describe the elements
of service recovery.

Minneapolis, MN (PRWEB) December 16, 2005
Service recovery is a critical -- yet all too often missingelement in providing customer service
that will attract and retain customers and have a positive impact on the bottom line of any
business -- no matter where it is located or what product or service it provides. In his latest book
-- Loyal for Life: How to Take Unhappy Customers from Hell to Heaven in 60 Seconds or Less -
- John Tschohl defines service recovery, details its importance to the bottom line, identifies role
models, and describes the elements of service recovery.
Service recovery builds customer loyalty that brings a customer back from the brink of
defection, says Tschohl, founder and president of the Service Quality Institute in Minneapolis,
Minnesota. Simply put, it is putting a smile on a customers face after youve screwed up. Its
solving a customers problem or complaint and sending him out the door feeling as if hes just
done business with the greatest company on earth -- and its doing so in 60 seconds or less.
Service recovery involves a series of steps that must be taken in order to attract -- and retain --
customers. In his 128-page book, Loyal for Life, Tschohl identifies and describes those steps.
They include:
Apologize. You must apologize and take responsibility for the error, Tschohl says. For
service recovery to work, it has to happen with the first person the customer tells about the
problem. Unfortunately, many employees dont want to admit that they or their company
screwed up, so they lie or make excuses, which irritates the customer even more. You must
apologize sincerely on behalf of the company.
Solve the problem. Once made aware of the situation, the employee must do whatever is
necessary -- as quickly as possible -- to solve the problem. That means, Tschohl says, that
employees must be empowered. They must be given the authority to bend and break the rules in
order to satisfy the customer.
Empowerment is the backbone of service recovery, Tschohl says. Its impossible to be a
service leader, to be customer centric and focus on a service strategy without empowering
employees. My definition of empowerment is giving employees the authority to do whatever it
takes, on the spot, to take care of a customer to that customers satisfactionnot to the
organizations satisfaction.
Give the customer something of value as compensation. To simply say youre sorry is nice, but
its not very powerful, Tschohl says. You must give the customer something that has value in
his eyes, something so powerful that he not only will continue to patronize your business but will
tell everyone he knows about the wonderful service you provided to him. Every company has
something of value it can give to a customer who has experienced a problem. It can cost the
company from nothing to a few dollars but, as long as it has value in the customers eyes, it will
be effective.
Tschohl was on the receiving end of exceptional service recovery while skiing in Vail. The chair
lift stopped, stranding dozens of skiers for an hour. Three times members of the ski patrol came
by to provide updates on the situation. When the skiers finally reached the top of the mountain,
three Vail employees greeted them, apologized for the inconvenience, and gave them each two
free lift tickets -- worth $70 each -- and a ticket for a free drink.
That was great service recovery, Tschohl says. It cost the resort next to nothing but it resulted
in unbelievable word-of-mouth advertising. For the rest of that day and the next, we told
everyone who would listen about the wonderful treatment we had received. If they had merely
given us a free drink ticket, that would have been nice, but we certainly wouldnt have raved
about it to others.
Create a service recovery process. It is important to develop a process that allows employees
some latitude in serving the customer but that also includes specifically defined steps that must
be followed in providing service recovery. Put in place at least five examples of service
recovery with strict instructions to employees to meet or exceed them, Tschohl says. That
might include pre-printed coupons for free services for customers who experience service issues,
a free dessert or round of drinks for members of a party that waited until 7:45 p.m. to be seated
for their 7 p.m. dinner reservations, or a first-class upgrade for an airline passenger whose
luggage was delayed two days.
Train employees. Too many executives think employees are born with good customer service
skills, Tschohl says. If you want your employees to provide service so awesome that it wows
your customers, they must combine the fundamentals of customer service with flawless
execution. Employees must be knowledgeable about your products and services, but they also
must be trained to provide the best service possible in order to keep your customers coming back
to you.
Service recovery not only builds customer loyalty, it draws more customers to a business and can
drastically reduce a companys advertising budget. Advertising will bring a customer to you
once, Tschohl says. The customer experience is what will bring him back to you time and time
again.
If you would like to receive a free download of Loyal for Life, log onto http://www.customer-
service.com and sign up for Tschohls free online service strategy newsletter.