When Did “Listen to your Customer” Become a Taboo?

Just last week, I was in Bali for the weekend. I took my three friends with me to my favorite massage parlor “Cozy” in Kuta. I’ve been going there for years and years and have always recommended it and even brought friends with me there. In short, I loved their service! What’s not to love? The place is clean, the prices are reasonable, the massage beds are comfortable, the staffs are experienced and friendly, and last but not least the place is safe. I would never, in a million years, have considered the last item “safe” being a remotely important category in reviewing a massage parlor – until now! For years I’d been going there, I always took for granted the fact that they provided lockers in the rooms underneath the beds where patrons can securely keep their belongings.

For years I’d been going there, I always did the same routine, put my things inside the locker, get the 1.5 hour full body massage, relax, and afterwards take my shower. And for years, I never had concerns or issues with the safety of my stuff. I changed nothing of my normal routine this time, except for my last minute switch up. When I got to the bathroom, I changed my mind, skipped the shower and went back to the room sooner instead. I opened the curtain halfway and found my therapist in my very dimly-lit room. She seemed surprised to see me back so early, swiftly asked me to wait outside in the hallway while she finishes up. Finally she let me in. I opened my locker and to my surprise found my things disarrayed. My things I kept in the locker were disheveled, my bag opened, wallet opened and a few other items I found all over the place outside of my bag. Somebody had broken into my locker!!!

I immediately called the therapist and told her about it. The only thing she said was a rehearsed SOP line “Did you lock the locker? Did you take the key with you when you left the room?”. Her condescending response upset me even more, so I asked for the manager, and sure enough she repeated the same SOP lines and nothing more. Their attitude towards my breaking and entering incident was overly nonchalant, cold, patronizing and blaming the customer for what happened. Not one staff showed any sympathy or concern, or cared to listen to me as to how I was feeling, or tried to investigate how the incident took place, let alone offered to help reconcile the situation.

A Bitter Learning Lesson

What I took away from that was obviously a horrid experience, violation of privacy, but most importantly poor crisis management and poor customer service on their part. It’s one thing as an establishment not to accept liability for unwanted occurrences like mine, but there’s also a thing called customer service, which in my case is the finesse to handle such predicament in order to reconcile relationships, restore trust and ensure customers can go home feeling somewhat positive afterwards.

Here are steps Cozy failed to take and should consider in managing a crisis situation:

1. First of all, Hear their story! In such negative incident, your customer is upset, angry, confused, scared, panicked – and is rightly so. The first people they will blame is you. Just listen to them. Don’t argue because it will only make matters worse. Listening to your customers doesn’t make them right, nor does it make you wrong, it just makes them feel heard, understood and important. In my case, Cozy would have benefitted from my story if they had been a good listener instead of being too busy throwing blames, and see that there’s vital internal negligence needed to be checked. Take notes to show that you’re taking it seriously, and seek facts. What Cozy should have done was ask “Can you tell me what might have happened? How did it happen?”
2. Say “sorry” Whatever happened to the saying ‘Your customer is always right”? Truthfully though, as a business woman myself, I take this phrase with a grain of salt. My motto on this issue is “Make them feel like they are right!” – because after all your customers are human too, they’re not always right and have to take responsibility also. It may not be an error on your part as an establishment, but after all it did happen, and it happened there, and by giving a sincere apology to your customer you can alleviate their negative emotions and make them feel better. One simple word can really determine the course of a disagreement resolution process. On the flip side, sometimes by giving an apology, you can also tell if a customer’s intention is genuine or not. In my case, Cozy should have at least said “We’re sorry to see you so upset”.
3. Empathize. The customer has just gone through a terrible experience in your establishment. Don’t be such a stickler with the liability rules. Have some compassion as human being! If that’s too big of a word, show you care at least. Ask if there’s anything you can do to make them feel better. A glass of water can also help calm their nerves. What Cozy did not do and should have done was simply ask “Did you check your belongings? Is everything there? Is anything missing at all?”
4. Give understanding to the customer. By doing steps 1-3 effectively, we’re able to help our customer to calm down and think clearly, versus emotionally. At this point, as an establishment, you can explain the company’s policy. This is an essential step especially if the negligence is on the customer’s part. Be aware, this is not a “blame” game, this is a “give understanding” game. Nobody wants to be called out for their error, and especially not your customers. By doing this effectively, you’re not admitting fault, but you’re not blaming the customer and making them feel worse either. Help your customers see from an objective angle what your company’s policies are in regards to the issue. Instead of patronizing me about locker keys, what Cozy should have done was say “Madam, we always enforce security and safety in the premises being a mutual responsibility by asking all our patrons to lock the lockers and take the key with them everywhere they go to prevent any loss or theft.”
5. Last but not least, What Next?. As bad as an experience a customer has had, if they see that you are eager to improve in order to make their potential future experience better, there’s a fair chance they might consider coming back. As bad as the breaking and entering incident was, Cozy didn’t have to lose me as a customer or even get negative reviews from me over it had they handled the situation correctly. More often than not, an excellent crisis management trumps the crisis itself. Considering everything that had happened to me, I might have actually considered going back still, had they done all the right steps to manage the crisis. What Cozy failed to do and should have done was take this stand “We will investigate the cause of the incident, and make sure to improve security on our part as well as by reminding our patrons to maintain safety”

Bad incidents can happen anywhere at anytime due to any reason with your customers. The most important thing should an incident occur is to manage it so that trust can be restored and your customer will still leave with a positive impression. Every company has their own set of SOPs when it comes to crisis management, but essentially in the event it should occur, every customer wants to be treated as an individual, as a human being with respect and compassion. I hope that my experience can help be a checking point to you about the importance of building, maintaining and restoring relationships with your customers.

This article has been published on Outward Bound Indonesia’s blog