Wednesday Wisdom: Just Do What You Say You Will Do

Word of Mouth Matters (Flickr/CC)

Writing this blog pushes me to pay close attention to appliance related information on the Internet. That includes reading review sites. The good reviews always emphasize the convenience, value and how nice the technician was that did the work.

What I find to be interesting is that frequently the bad reviews often are caused by things that happen well before the technician gets onto the site. One of the most common complaints is simply doing what they said they would do. Arriving late to a service call, not returning calls, or just generally dropping the ball are often the problems cited. It doesn't have to be that way!

It's true that in a mobile, problem solving business such as ours, all kinds of things can cause delays. Customers seem to understand that. If something is going wrong or a delay is impossible to avoid, make sure you communicate with your customer.

There is a reluctance to sharing bad news with a customer before the job is done. There is a chance that some people would cancel the job. I would suggest that most would appreciate the information up front more that sweeping the problem under the rug.

A lot of people in business over the years have had the opinion, that apologizing after the fact would minimize any negative word of mouth. Those days are over.  With the communication tools that exist these days, an unhappy customer can tell a large group of people about their frustration with a few clicks on the keyboard. The damage can be done before you even know the customer is unhappy!

Like so much in life, the best defense is a good offense. In this case that means, simply, just do what you say you will do.

Customers do appreciate the RESPECT you are showing them when you offer full disclosure. That is what they will tell their friends about. How when something went wrong you stepped up to plate, admitted the issue and dealt with it, A much better result than complaining to their friends that you did not meet their expectations.

How do YOU handle it when something goes wrong? We'd love to hear about it in the comments. Have a great day out there, and may all your Internet reviews be five-star ones!

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