Service Rescue
Mistakes certainly happen but how you recover from them can make a lasting impression on your customers.
Recently, I took my son to a doctor’s appointment. After a 45 minute trip to get to there, park and make our way through the building, we were informed nonchalantly that the appointment had been canceled earlier that day due to an emergency that called the physician away. Little effort was made to contact me and further troubling me was the lack of empathy that the receptionist displayed. At this point, I was rather frustrated and explained the ordeal that I had to go through to get my son to the appointment on time. The series of steps involved making arrangements for him to leave school early to navigating their always crowded parking structure.
The receptionist suggested a couple of alternate appointment times that did not work with our schedule. At this point, I was rather frustrated and let her know that I would call in later to reschedule.
As we were walking away, another receptionist approached me and apologized profusely for our missed appointment. She also highlighted the lack of empathy that was displayed in the handling of our situation and asked if she could help us schedule another appointment either on the spot or at another time. I was impressed by her professionalism and concern for my son’s health.
After several weeks, we returned to see the doctor. Once we checked in, the person who was so thoughtful at our last appointment came over to welcome us back and make sure that things had gone smoothly in scheduling our visit. She also commented on the significant length of time that had gone by since we had last been in and was concerned that it may have impacted my son’s health. I was completely surprised and frankly totally impressed that a small mix-up was attended to after so much time had passed. This person also checked in on us as we were leaving to make sure all our issues were handled to our satisfaction.
My single biggest take away from this episode is how a bad experience can be transformed into one that was positive and memorable for all the right reasons.
