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I am the CEO of Peoplocity. We help businesses hear directly from their customers, privately. Consumers use a mobile app to share feedback and resolve issues in real time. We like to say that we use technology to connect consumers with businesses to improve the customer experience.

At Peoplocity, if a business is not yet a partner and they receive a message, we get the message to them and work to resolve issues. So, I was shocked by how badly a large national restaurant chain, and its local management mishandled a recent customer complaint. The customer is a well-respected community leader. His message was “It has taken us 20 minutes to get water. Service is overly slow. Might have to leave before we get our food.”

Our attempt to deliver the message to the restaurant was a train wreck. It took 30 minutes, and getting through 2 gatekeepers to get to the restaurant manager empowered to handle a customer complaint. His response was, “corporate handles complaints.”

I asked, “You mean you don’t want to know the problem, and you can’t resolve issues at your own location?” The manager responded, “Corporate wants all complaints to go through them.”

I was speechless! This was an easy fix. Simply respond with an apology, and an offer to buy this lunch, or the next lunch, (or if you want a customer for life- then you could deliver the lunch to their office). Truly a no-brainer. I called the corporate customer service line, and began an extremely painful experience with an automated phone attendant that makes Comcast seem like Nordstrom. “If you are calling about service in Kentucky, press…” When Indiana came up… “This extension is no longer valid.“ I decide to leave my name and number on the Ohio extension with no expectations that anyone will get back to me.

What’s the takeaway? Obviously, the lifetime value of this customer, and everyone he influences is MUCH more valuable than buying a lunch. Take action immediately to resolve an issue. Every minute that goes by makes the problem worse. The entire staff should be trained and empowered to make resolution decisions on the spot. Research shows that if you can turn the negative situation around quickly, that customer is up to 50% more loyal than before the incident occurred.

This restaurant is not a newcomer. They should know better.

Originally published in the April 2015 Issue of The Carmel Business Leader.

Categorized in: Blog, Customer Service

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