Sage Wedding Pros

This week, we’ve been talking about owning up to mistakes and solving problems. But what happens when there is no solution? Sometimes you aren’t going to be able to solve the problem. Here’s the important thing: you must make a whole-hearted ATTEMPT to solve the problem. This plays into an important part of the client service equation. And, for those times that *you know* you won’t be able to solve the problem, you need to give the client the impression that you will – at least *try* to solve the problem. This is what the client wants to see and hear to feel good about a negative experience.

Good customer service is saying: “I hear your problem. I will help. I am in charge. I will do this for you.”

Here’s an example…

I was reviewing bank charges in my checking account and I noticed that I had duplicate charge for a transaction. I called Wells Fargo bank to dispute the charge. The phone rep was incredibly helpful and diligent. She explained to me exactly what was going to happen and that she would research the charges. Within 10 days I would either see a reversal or receive a phonecall with more information.

This is a GREAT customer service experience!

Here’s the thing… my problem hasn’t even been solved yet. I’m still out $119 for the extra charge. But, I’m OK with that. I’m in a good mood and things are cool. You know why? I know she is taking charge and helping me out. She is servicing my problem. That is all that I want as a client. Knowing that she is making herself responsible for this and working to fix it makes me feel a lot better.

And what happens if there is no resolution for the problem in spite of your efforts?  OR – what if you know that you cannot fix the problem. You still say: ”I hear your problem. I will help. I am in charge. I will do this for you.”

Here’s an example…

You are a photographer and your client is reviewing their images. They *LOVE* everything you did but they notice one thing missing. There is NO detail shot of the cake.  The cake was in a small side room and when you were taking photos of the room setup it totally slipped your mind. The bride is a little sad about this. She comes to you with her dissatisfaction. What do you do?

Ummmm… you obviously can’t reshoot the cake or go back in time. This is not a problem that you have a solution for. ZERO FIX – NADA – ZILCH. You could panic and try to defend yourself. OR – you could be proactive and take responsibility. “Oh Sarah! Oh my goodness! I need to be honest with you. I totally missed it when I was taking detail shots. BUT – let me see what I can do. I am going to see if for some chance my second shooter happened to get some shots that I don’t know about. There is a small chance that there is an image of the cake out there. I want you to know it is small because I believe she gave me all the images. But, I want to make it right. I am going to call my second shooter right now and see. Sarah – will you be around at 6pm today so that I can give you an update?”

See how that works? You may very well know that there is NO image of the cake. But, giving the client the feeling that you are actively working to help them is VERY important in having them feel serviced by you. (In this example, the photographer will go back and say there is no image and offer some consolation… possible a few prints of images at no charge… Something, anything, to make it up. But, it’s the attempt to fix the original problem that will make the favorable impression on the client. This *attempt* is much more valuable in the experience than the consolation is for the client.)

This is about being proactive, taking responsibility, and being in charge.

Kelly wrote a fantastic post on owning up to mistakes yesterday. (Go read it now if you haven’t yet.) She talked about how passing the buck makes every wedding vendor (your colleagues) have to pick up the slack. Not only is this a hassle to your colleagues, but also costly to them.

You know what else?

It’s really bad client service. Every wedding pro I know touts their client service. (“I have the best client service!”) Here’s the first rule of client service:

Solving problems is how you service the client.

That’s what we do… we solve needs. We solve problems. If your company is priding that as a core value, then you need to walk the walk and talk the talk. The clients’ needs come first and showing that you can solve a problem (regardless of who “owns” it) is a fundamental part of customer service.

Here’s a recent example in my own life… American Airlines delayed my luggage for 3.5 days on my trip to Singapore last month. (I was only there for 7 days so it was quite crushing not to have my things for half the trip.) I bought incidentals totaling $350. (You can imagine that $350 doesn’t total up to a lot of fancy splurges… basics so that I didn’t stink up the joint.) The company policy is to have the airline that was on my last leg be responsible for the charges (which was Japan Airlines). Japan Airlines reimbursed me for only $80. I am still owed $270 for this mistake.

Here’s the thing – I’m an American Airlines customer. I booked all my flights through the company. Our family flies a combined 100-150k miles each year with them. They were also the ones responsible for my 3 flight delays on the way to Singapore. And, they were the airline that had my bag sit in JFK for 3 days. Regardless of any policy that they feel entitled to pass this along to Japan Airlines, I would hope that they would help out a customer in need. TALK ABOUT PASSING THE BUCK! Both airlines are washing their hands clean of me and my measly reimbursement. And, ultimately, as a customer of American Airlines, I am not being serviced. This is a company priding itself on service and the “New American” (an image that, in my opinion, will take years to improve.) I don’t care who’s at fault. I don’t care what the policy is. All I want is to have my problem resolved. And, no one is doing that.

Who loses out? The client.

That’s going to sit on my mind for a long time… not the nice representative who gave me a $12 concession voucher on one of my last delayed flights. I have a problem and no one is fixing it.

Think about this next time you pass the buck…

The client may remember the beautiful chuppah you designed for their ceremony. BUT – they are REALLY going to remember how you saved the day when the centerpiece tipped over just before the ceremony began. This is what service is about. Be a hero. SOLVE PROBLEMS.

Last month Michelle did an awesome post on “How Do You Say I’m Sorry” to a client when you make a mistake, and provided some great guidance as to how to manage that relationship when you goof up (or even when it’s not your mistake but your client is unhappy).  As I am also a Wedding Planner, I have definitely made my fair share of mistakes with clients - and also – with wedding pros.  I see my relationships with my colleagues just as important as my rapport with clients.  So, today I want to focus on “How Do You Say I’m Sorry” to your colleagues, but most importantly how do you “Own Up” to your mistakes and how do you make up for them.

What is an Example of Passing the Buck?

I am seeing alot of the “passing the buck” going on with wedding pros.  Example – say a Caterer ordered linens for your client and on the day of the wedding they are 2 short.  They say “you told us 15 total linens for the guest tables, not 20″ but you are positive that you gave them a quantity of 20.  Instead of the Caterer saying “no problem at all, we’ll do whatever it takes to make sure we find 5 extra linens for you” they say “well, you’ll have to find 5 extra linens because this is all we have”.  They pass the buck.  Instead of being a team player, helping the Wedding Planner out…they instead wash their hands of the situation and basiclly are saying that it’s the Planner’s problem.  I’m sorry, but I am immediately thinking “wow, I’m not going to be referring this Caterer ever again because they aren’t a team player and are only concerned about themselves.”

The other huge problem with this scenario is that one person’s mistake, and inability to help problem solve as a team member, is that it doesn’t just impact the Wedding Planner.  It impacts the Florist because they cannot set the tables as planned and need to wait on the 5 linens.  It impacts the Venue Coordinator or Planner who is waiting on placing favors on those tables, menus, etc.  Sometimes mistakes like this can also cause a financial impact on your colleagues – that Florist or Planner my have hired staff to help set-up and now that they have to wait on the 5 linens, it’s going to cost them extra to keep their staff onsite until the linen situation is fixed.  All this to say, one mistake that isn’t “owned up to” can cause a huge trickle down effect and impact alot of people.  Not to mention, the business who doesn’t own up to their mistakes is putting their brand at risk – big time.

What Can You Do to Fix a Mistake?

If you are the one who caused a mistake as a wedding pro, you CAN fix the problem.  Here are a few tips that I recommend (and that I personally do when I make a mistake):

1.  Apologize:  Be genuine as you communicate your apology.  People can tell if you say “I’m sorry” but don’t really mean it (alot of it is your tone of voice).  So be sure to really try and communicate to that wedding pro that you are genuinely sorry you caused them a headache.

2.  Do Something to Make Up for It:  If you know you made a mistake or even if you can sense your colleague is the least bit unhappy, do something about it.  You have just lost their trust, and it’s important to show them you’re truly sorry and want to make up for it (especially if you cost them time or $).  Being timely about this is also critical – you don’t want to wait 6 months after your mistake to do something about it.  Show your colleague that you want to regain their trust and confidence in you immediately.  Here are some ideas for things you can do:

• Send them a gift card with a hand-written note:  A $25 gift card to Starbucks and a hand-written note goes a long way.  Apologize for the miss on your part, that you value your relationship with that colleague, and want them to you know you are so sorry it cost them time and/or $.
• Buy a nice bouquet from one of your Florist friends and have it delivered to the wedding pro you need to apologize to.  This will show them you care and really want to make up for your error.
• Send them an Amex Gift Card that they can use anywhere equivalent to the estimated cost of the error (ie – if you know it caused their team 2 extra hours of work, send them $50)

The Moral of the Story?

I once got a call from a Photographer who was waiting for me at a restaurant we were supposed to be meeting at to discuss business (I had never met with him before).  I was going through a family emergency at the time, so I was really out of it and completely missed the meeting.  My heart sunk.  I’ve NEVER missed a meeting until then and I felt so bad that I wasted his time to drive to the restaurant, wait for me, and then have me not show.  What a terrible first impression!  I wanted to show him that this was NOT my character and that this was a huge mistake on my part.  I immediately mailed him a note profusely apologizing along with a Starbucks gift card.  To this day, this Photographer is one of our most trusted colleagues, we’ve worked together a bunch, and we have a great rapport.

So…PLEASE own up to your mistakes, don’t pass the buck, and think about how you can immediately make the situation right with your colleagues…you CAN regain their trust!