QBQ! QuickNote - Mistakes Happen, but so does QBQ! Service  |
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 This Week's QBQ QuickNoteOur QBQ! QuickNote today comes from a colleague in the training industry named Naomi from the great state of Ohio. Enjoy! John, my daughter's 5th birthday was in October. I had promised her that I would bring to her kindergarten class special Halloween pumpkin cupcakes topped with candy corn to celebrate. So I put in an order a week in advance at a Graeter's ice cream store near where I work. We stop at this store all the time for ice cream, but normally not for bakery goods-so I decided to see what they could do. The day before The Big Day I called the store and said, "You will have two dozen pumpkin cupcakes ready for tomorrow, right?" The response was, "Yes, Ma'am!" I arrived in the pouring rain at Graeter's the next morning and Ann was behind the counter. When I asked for my special cupcakes, she located my order sheet, but not the cakes. She was at a loss for words, and I was stunned. My first thought was Gee, Graeter's, I gave you a chance and you let me down! But, mistakes happen and I had to get going, so when I noticed other cupcakes in the bakery case I asked her to pack them up. They were not what I wanted or had promised my daughter, but what could I do? I was frustrated, but would certainly survive. Perceptively, Ann noticed my frustration and gently said, "Ma'am, we're going to turn this around for you. I can't provide you the pumpkins cupcakes, but would you like a free cup of coffee and a donut while I get these others ready?" I said, "Okay, thanks." After getting me my food, she inquired, "Are you on your way to work?" "Yes, I work at the hospital." (I did not mention to Ann that I am the customer service trainer for an organization with over 9,000 employees.) She then offered, "Which one of those large coffee cakes over there would you like to share with your co-workers today-for free?" Now I'm smiling, feeling delighted, and respond with, "Well, I'll take the Cherry Cordial flavored!" She grabbed the cake and packed it up with extra plates, forks, and napkins. And when she rang my order up she even gave me a discount on the cupcakes! And then-as I held my coffee in one hand and donut in the other-she said, "Why don't you go get your car, bring it out front, and I'll carry your things out to you?" WOW! I was totally amazed as I looked out the window and saw the rain still coming down. Minutes later, she brought my well-packed bags of goods out to my car and when I said, "Thanks for everything!" she responded, smiling, "I'm glad all of this worked out for you." The truth is, it "worked out for me" because she worked it out. And when I could've just been disgusted with Graeter's, I'm absolutely thrilled with Graeter's. They did not lose a coffee cake or profit that day-instead they gained a customer forever. And beyond that, their reputation was enhanced when I emailed all my co-workers in the Education & Training department inviting them to come enjoy coffee cake and hear my Graeter's story! John, I have been teaching customer service skills for almost 20 years, and I have a lot of good and bad customer service stories, but the Graeter's story is the greatest of them all! Naomi Ohio ----------------------------------------------------------------  Yes, Naomi, how tempting it would have been for Ann to say, "It's not my job!" "It's not my department!" "It's not my problem!" She easily could've asked lousy but common questions like, "Why didn't someone fill this order?" and "Who made the mistake?" But instead she practiced personal accountability by asking The Question Behind the Question-a terrific QBQ: "How can I turn this experience around for the customer?" And she did. Now that's QBQ! Service! John G. Miller, Author of QBQ! and Flipping the Switch QBQ! QuickNotes may be forwarded by email to others or printed in their entirety with credit given for personal and group use. Copyright QBQ, Inc. 2007. All rights reserved. Host a QBQ! event at your organization and start making personal accountability a core cultural value. Click here for more information or give us a call today at 1-866-988-RAIN - we'd love to hear from you! Learn more about Personal Accountability and the QBQ! at our Personal Accountability at Work website Visit the QBQ! QuickNotes Archives Personal Accountability should be an important part of every organizational culture. Unfortunately though a culture of personal accountability is often times eroded and replaced by a destructive culture characterized by negativity, blame shifting, finger pointing, and poor employee morale. QBQ! The Question Behind The Question seeks to eliminate this noxious culture and replace it with one where individuals take responsibility for their actions and ask themselves what they as individuals can do to help the organization succeed and prosper. For more information about how you can create a culture of personal accountability in your organization give us a shout! 1-866-988-RAIN   |
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