Knock Your Socks Off Service Recovery

by Ron Zemke, Chip Bell

Overview

"Cancelled flights, damaged goods, botched bills, locked-up software—these are the service screw-ups that leave customers angry, disgusted...and determined to never buy from you again! But these mad-as-hell customers can be wooed back through skillful, planned ""service recovery."" And, surprisingly, customers who experience world-class Knock Your Socks Off service recovery become your most loyal customers—and are a source of continuing business for years to come. Building on the popular, breezy approach of the Knock Your Socks Off Service series, the authors provide managers with an upbeat primer on creating a first-class recovery system. Enlivened by John Bush's witty illustrations, the book explains: * The economics of recovery—what it costs when you lose customers, and how little it can cost to win them back * The processes, policies, and technology a company must have to ensure an effective, real-time recovery system * The manager's role in sustaining an outstanding recovery system—through training, coaching, empowering, supporting, inspiring, and rewarding great service providers."

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780814470848
Publisher:	AMACOM
Publication date:	05/26/2000
Series:	Knock Your Socks off Series
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	17 Years

About the Author

CHIP R. BELL is the founder of The Chip Bell Group and author of many popular books including Wired and Dangerous. His work has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Fortune, USA Today, Fast Company, Business Week and other major media.

Table of Contents

"Section 1: Dollars and Sense of Service Recovery

Introduction: Why Recovery

1. Recovery by the Numbers

2. The Feel of Effective Recovery

3. The Case of Gracie Golf

Section 2: The Service Recovery Process

Introduction: It’s Not What You Do, It’s the Way That You Do It

4. Philosophy of Service Recovery

5. Six-Step Fox Trot of Supply

6. Customers’ Recovery Expectations

7. Axioms of Elegant Recovery

8. Recovery as a Planned Process

Section 3: Leading Memorable Recovery: The Manager’s Imperative

Introduction: Manager as Role Model

9. Find and Retain Recovery Talent

10. Train and Coach

11. Involve and Empower

12. Recognize, Reward and Celebrate

13. Support and Inspire

Section 4: Creating Strategic Recovery

Introduction: Superior Recovery as a Business Advantage

14. Berry Model and SMPI

15. CORDS

16. Apology and Atonement

17. Crisis Management: Advanced Recovery

Section 5: The Service Recovery Hip Pocket Tool Box

Introduction: Tools, Tactics and Techniques for Success

18. Customer from Hell Checklist

19. Winning Words and Helpful Phrases

20. When and How to Say No

21. An Ounce of Prevention: Phone Relations

22. Tips for Retention

23. Recovering from Recovery

24. When and How to Fire a Customer

25. Dealing with No-Easy-Answer Complaints

26. Retention Model Worksheet

27. Recovery and the Internet"

Editorial Reviews

In his new book, Knock Your Socks Off Service Recovery, management consultant Chip Bell writes about companies that know how to respond quickly to customer complaints and keep customers by fixing problems. Bell, an executive with Minneapolis-based Performance Research Associates, advises companies how to build loyalty with good service 'recovery' systems….'Does your organization do the right things when things go wrong?' asks Bell, who wrote the book with Performance Research president Ron Zemke. 'Saying "Oops, sorry," just doesn't cut it. Customers don't expect you to be perfect. They expect you to care.' When a customer's product or service falls apart, 'It's not just a case of "I'm disappointed." It's "You betrayed me." It's an implied promise. That dictates a different sort of response.' Bell says companies that recover best when problems strike have a corporate culture that understands the link between caring service and customer loyalty. The management, not just the front-line employee, has training and systems in place to respond thoughtfully to problems. At Marriott, Bell teaches a lodging executives' workshop, 'Serving as Leader,' on issues including managing customers' emotional feelings of betrayal. He helps hotel executives understand how customer expectations are changing - and how companies must respond. 'Organizations are figuring out they can't make all the decisions at the top,' Bell says. 'You have to push them closer to the customer and have people at those levels equipped to make decisions. You can't give them empowerment without the tools.'
— USA Today

Chip Bell