Us Brits never like to complain about anything, we would rather not cause a fuss and will put up with things instead of standing up for ourselves and complaining.  Sometimes, it pays to make a complaint as I have been finding out recently firstly with my mobile phone service which has been mentioned here already but secondly with a very expensive skirt from an equally expensive shop as well as a venue where our 4Networking group meetings used to be held before we moved somewhere else.

4networking used to meet at Studley Castle until we started being shoved in a conference room with no opportunity to break out to have our 3 x 1:1 appointments and the indignity of having to carry hot breakfast plates several hundred yards from the restaurant back to the designated room, we felt unwanted to we found an alternative venue.  Fortunately, my Area Leader had left Studley Castle’s email address on his listing and he received a call asking why we no longer used their hotel for our breakfast meetings – this lead to a meeting with the newly appointed General Manager.  As I am the Group Leader of Redditch 4Networking, I tagged along to the meeting because I wanted to meet the new Manager to hear what he had to say – firstly he apologised for the way in which we had been treated before – he didnt have to take ownership of that problem because our poor treatment occurred under the previous Manager.  The new Manager talked about the way he worked and how he wanted his staff to work and we could see that he was passionate about his hotel and the staff who work for him.  The hotel needs huge sums of money spending on it but the atmosphere has been greatly improved by the addition of a few pictures and a lick of paint here and there – one room has been rescued from its former life as a general dumping ground for junk and has been transformed into a lovely private dining room with separate private lounge.  We were advised that many staff had left with the old Manager and that new staff had been employed and the whole atmosphere in the hotel had been lifted.  I noticed it when I first walked in – everyone was friendly and wanted to be there – the previous atmosphere was rather oppressive, the change was really noticeable and I commented on it because I mentioned to the Sales Manager, whom I knew from before, that she had got her zing back.

We were told that we could have the new private dining room and adjacent lounge area for our meetings and that we were free to break out into the garden or the main hotel lounge for our 1:1 meetings.  I must admit that we both felt confident about returning but we didn’t tell the hotel straightaway – we talked about it on the way back to our cars and then I went back into the hotel to confirm that we would be returning.  I rang the General Manager that afternoon because I thought it was only polite to let him know myself – he told me that in the 10 weeks that he had been there he had discovered a 9hole pitch and putt golf course out back..this course had lain dormant for 6 years but it had now been reinstated and will be a good selling tool for the hotel…I know that 4N members like to play golf so a 9 hole would suit them.

The morale of the tale about Studley Castle is that people should be given the opportunity to put things right and to take ownership of past mistakes even if they didn’t happen when they were there.  You may be surprised because that customer that you thought was lost may well come back to you.

Another example of good customer service is my recent experience with Fenn Wright & Manson within Selfridges, Birmingham – I purchased a skirt in August/Septembeer and had ditched the receipt long ago – I bought this gorgeous black skirt  with crystal flowers and other crystals from the knee down – the skirt cost me £169!  I first wore the skirt on the Tuesday (the same day as the meeting at Studley Castle), the skirt fitted perfectly, however it had a design fault that when you sat down the crystals popped off..needless to say I was quite miffed.  I took the skirt back to Selfridges the next day and explained that I no longer had the receipt – I was expecting to be sent away with a flea in my ear but the member of staff remembered me buying the skirt in the first place and I was offered a replacement, I decided against having another skirt the same in case the problem recurred so I spent time trying on dresses to go with the black jacket that I had bought at the same time as the faulty skirt.  I found 3 dresses and had to make a contribution of my own towards them because they were over the £169 value.  One dress is a jersey dress with pockets and 3/4 length sleeves – this is more of a casual dress and I have worn it a fair bit this week, the second is another jersey dress but this has no sleeves and has a crystal decoration on the V-neck – this dress was divine and I knew it was the one when I put it on, the other dress was half price in the sale – this is black and white with a pattern on it and has no sleeves.  I am a regular customer in Fenn Wright & Manson and was told that I was allowed to exchange my skirt because I was a regular customer of their’s.

Again, this is an example of great customer service – I felt as though I was an important person and treated with respect – as a result of the service I received, I have spoken to all my friends about my great experience, however, had I had a bad experience I would have spoken to my friends and would have suggested that they didn’t buy clothes from them.

I would advise that you should always do what you can to appease the customer and if you can’t appease them then at least leave things on amicable terms as they will remember that and will be more likely to use your services again, if your staff are rude to the customer then it is likely that that customer will have gone for ever and will ensure that you lose more customers by telling their friends/colleagues about their bad experience with you.  When dealing with people over the phone – ensure that your staff all smile before they answer the phone because although it sounds wierd the smile will travel down the phone line and the person on the other end will hear the smile in the voice – if you answer the phone in a grumpy manner then that has the opposite effect and the customer at the end of the phone knows they are in for a difficult time as it will immedately put their back up.