Keep your client relationships aflo

Keep your client relationships afloat.
By Morgen Witzel

The passengers of the Aurora had every right to be angry. The round-the-world cruise for which they had paid thousands of pounds was this month cancelled after persistent engine problems.

Yet there was little rancour among the passengers. While the ship was held off the south coast of England, the passengers remained calm and even cheerful. Though many expressed regret as they finally disembarked, they were not hostile towards the ship's operators, P&O. This way have been due to the company's management of the crisis.

Dealing with a service failure is a formidable task for any marketing manager. If poorly handled, the consequences can be bad public relations, desertion by customers and even lawsuits. The Aurora story shows how managers, if they move quickly, can avoid some of the worst effects of service failures.

While high-profile cases such as the stricken cruise ship are relatively rare, companies everywhere may regularly suffer small service failures. Plumbers fail to fix leaking drains, restaurant meals are undercooked or holidaymakers find their hotel room is directly above an all-night disco. Every failure creates a dissatisfied customer, which in turn creates other problems for the company.

Unhappy customers tend to tell others of their experience. Studies in the US have shown that dissatisfied customers tend to tell around ten other people of their bad experience; even worse, they can take their stories to the press.

Dissatisfied customers also defect to rival businesses.Although every service failure will be different, some basic principles can assist in recovery. The first is early recognition of the problem. In P&O's case this was easy: everyone involved knew that the large lump of metal floating in the Solent was not going anywhere. Other failures are harder to detect, especially when management is asleep at the wheel.

The second principle is acceptance of responsibility. Many companies prefer, to argue with customers over where responsibility lies, without realising that damage is being done regardless of who is at fault. Although there are limits to the responsibilities companies should accept - such as accidents and injuries that were not the company's fault - there is usually little profit in scoring moral victories over customers. Hence clothing retailers often have a no-questions-asked policy on returned goods, believing that the harm done by the occasional dishonest customer is more than outweighed by the satisfaction created among the rest.

Once responsibility is accepted, the two most urgent needs for the company to address are communication and compensation. Transparency is vital. Academic studies have shown that when faced with product or service failure, companies that communicate truthfully and promptly with their customers receive a favourable responce. These customers feel that their concerns are actually being addressed and taken seriously. In the Aurora case, senior P&O managers were often on hand to provide information to passengers, who regarded this as a positive feature.

Compensation must be carefully matched to the customer's dissatisfaction. Too small an amount trivialises the customer's experience and can give offence, but it is also possible to go too far the other way. Researches in the US found an example of a hotel chain that had a policy of instantly refunding the full room rate to any guest with a genuine complaint, no matter how trivial. Yet many customers - against expectations - found it embarrassing to be given hundreds of dollars in compensation when they had merely complained about a faulty light fixture or a dripping tap.

Service industries often have their compensation benchmarks. In the holiday sector, the standard was set by the 19th-century inventor of the package holiday, Thomas Cook, who made it his policy to refund in full the money paid by any customer whose holiday was curtailed or cancelled, and offer a discount on their next booking. P&O's policy would have pleased Cook - the company reportedly offered the same level of compensation to the passengers of the Aurora. Not every package holiday company follows this example.

Following these simple principles should please most customers most of the time. Research across a wide variety of service industries over the past 20 years confirms that a successful service recovery operation reduces or even eliminates any consumer dissatisfaction.

The aborted cruise of the Aurora was disappointing for P&O's passengers. But the consequences could have been far worse. Many of the passengers said they planned to travel on a P&O cruise in the future.

Результаты (русский) 1:

Держите ваш клиент отношения на плаву. По Morgen ВитцельПассажиры из Аврора имел полное право быть злым. Круиз-мире, для которого они заплатили тысячи фунтов в этом месяце был отменен после проблем стойких двигателя.Однако существует мало озлобленность среди пассажиров. В то время как корабль был проведен у южного побережья Англии, пассажиры оставалась спокойной и даже веселый. Хотя многие выразили сожаление, как они наконец вышли, они не были враждебны к судовых операторов, P & O. Таким образом были вызваны руководство компании кризиса. Работа с сбоя службы является трудная задача для любого менеджера по маркетингу. Если плохо обработанные, последствия могут быть плохо общественностью, дезертирство, клиентов и даже судебных исков. Аврора рассказ показывает, как руководители, если они перемещаются быстро, можно избежать некоторых из худших последствий сбоев службы. В то время как громких случаях такие как пострадавшей круизное судно относительно редки, компании везде регулярно могут страдать сбоев небольшой службы. Сантехников удастся исправить утечка стоков, недоваренные ресторанное питание или отдыхающих найти их номер отель находится прямо над Всенощное диско. Каждая неудача создает недовольных клиентов, которые в свою очередь создает другие проблемы для компании. Недовольные клиенты, как правило, рассказать другим о их опыте. Исследования в США показали, что, как правило, недовольных клиентов сказать около десяти других людей их плохой опыт; хуже того они могут принимать свои рассказы для печати. Недовольных клиентов также дефект соперничать бизнеса. Хотя каждый сбой службы будет отличаться, некоторые основные принципы может помочь в восстановлении. Во-первых, раннее признание проблемы. В P & O в случае это было легко: все участники знали, что большой кусок металла с плавающей в Солент было никуда не. Другие сбои труднее обнаружить, особенно, когда управление заснул за рулем.Второй принцип-принятие ответственности. Многие компании предпочитают, чтобы спорить с клиентами над где лежит ответственность, не понимая, что ущерб делается независимо от того кто виноват. Хотя существуют пределы обязанностей, которые компании должны принимать - таких, как несчастные случаи и травмы, которые не были компании вина - есть обычно мало прибыли в скоринга моральных побед над посетителями. Поэтому одежды розничной торговли часто имеют без вопросы политики на возвращенные товары, полагая, что вред, наносимый случайные нечестных клиентов более чем перевешивается удовлетворенности среди остальных.Once responsibility is accepted, the two most urgent needs for the company to address are communication and compensation. Transparency is vital. Academic studies have shown that when faced with product or service failure, companies that communicate truthfully and promptly with their customers receive a favourable responce. These customers feel that their concerns are actually being addressed and taken seriously. In the Aurora case, senior P&O managers were often on hand to provide information to passengers, who regarded this as a positive feature.Compensation must be carefully matched to the customer's dissatisfaction. Too small an amount trivialises the customer's experience and can give offence, but it is also possible to go too far the other way. Researches in the US found an example of a hotel chain that had a policy of instantly refunding the full room rate to any guest with a genuine complaint, no matter how trivial. Yet many customers - against expectations - found it embarrassing to be given hundreds of dollars in compensation when they had merely complained about a faulty light fixture or a dripping tap.Service industries often have their compensation benchmarks. In the holiday sector, the standard was set by the 19th-century inventor of the package holiday, Thomas Cook, who made it his policy to refund in full the money paid by any customer whose holiday was curtailed or cancelled, and offer a discount on their next booking. P&O's policy would have pleased Cook - the company reportedly offered the same level of compensation to the passengers of the Aurora. Not every package holiday company follows this example.Following these simple principles should please most customers most of the time. Research across a wide variety of service industries over the past 20 years confirms that a successful service recovery operation reduces or even eliminates any consumer dissatisfaction.The aborted cruise of the Aurora was disappointing for P&O's passengers. But the consequences could have been far worse. Many of the passengers said they planned to travel on a P&O cruise in the future.