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Seminars
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Apology
and Customer Relations Letters
“PR letters can build good customer relations”
“A
carefully written apology can create goodwill”
“'Letters
from a Nut' test customer service”
“PR
letters follow 5-part formula”
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PR letters can build good customer relations
By Stephen Wilbers
Author of 1,000 columns
published in the Minneapolis Star Tribune & elsewhere
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We had
just finished discussing a five-step formula for writing customer
relations letters when Greg Johnson, a participant in a seminar I was
teaching in Minneapolis, said, "I just got a letter from Dayton's
Department Store that I thought was well written."
Greg
explained that he had gone to the Coach department during a sale when the
store was very busy. The Coach department sells leather goods—very nice
leather goods, which is why most of the items are kept behind glass. The
only problem with keeping merchandise behind glass is that customers can't
buy anything unless someone is there to unlock the case for them.
After
waiting for more than 20 minutes, Greg went to another department and
asked for help. Before leaving the store, he filled out a complaint card.
A day or
so later, the Assistant Store Manager called to apologize. At the end of
their conversation, she mentioned that she would be sending a letter.
We had
been discussing hypothetical approaches to business writing and here was a
chance to look at an actual example, so I asked Greg if I could have a
look at the letter.
"Sure,"
he said. "In fact, I have it in my briefcase."
We made
copies and passed them around.
The group
was mightily impressed. The letter follows the five-step formula almost
to a T:
1.
Goodwill greeting. "Thank you for sharing your feedback with us regarding the unpleasant
experience you had in the Coach department at Dayton's Southdale. I also
appreciate you taking a few minutes to speak with me by phone."
Well,
that's friendly enough. "Thank you" is always a good opening, and the
author knows the trick of using personal pronouns (you, your, us, you, I,
you, me) to create a personal tone.
2. Apology
or empathy statement.
"Please accept my sincere apology for the poor service afforded you."
This too
is well done. Although no empathy statement is offered (such as "I
understand how annoying it was for you to waste your
time
waiting"), the apology is personal and direct.
3. Explanation
of the problem. "We pride ourselves on convenience and strong customer service at Dayton's
and the service you received certainly did not reflect our standards. Be
assured, Mr. Johnson, that we will continue to make improvements in our
staffing and service levels."
Actually,
no explanation is offered, but what the author does (and does well) is
recast a negative situation in a positive light. Note too that the
earlier negative point ("the poor service afforded you") was stated in the
passive voice, while the positive points ("We pride ourselves . . . we
will continue . . . ") are stated in the active voice, which is more
direct and emphatic.
4. Good
news/bad news. "I have enclosed a gift certificate for Dayton's as an expression of our
thanks and goodwill."
Well, a
little money never hurts. Actually, the certificate was for $25, which is
more than just a token.
5. Goodwill
closing. "I sincerely hope you will allow us the opportunity to serve you in the
future at Dayton's Southdale. We value you as our customer."
With a
closing as sincere and straightforward as that, how can you lose?
As a
result of this episode, Greg told us, Dayton's has installed a motion
detector that shoots a beam of infra red light in the direction of the
Coach counter—just to make sure that during times when the department is
unstaffed no customers are left languishing at the counter.
But what
the participants in my seminar really wanted to do was visit the store and
find something to complain about so they too could get one of those $25
gift certificates. |
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A carefully written apology can create
goodwill
By Stephen Wilbers
Author of 1,000 columns
published in the Minneapolis Star Tribune & elsewhere
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Two of your most powerful tools in
sustaining and increasing your business are quality and goodwill. They go
hand-in-hand. But what do you do
when things go wrong?
Let’s say you failed to deliver a
product by a promised deadline, or you delivered the wrong product, or you
delivered the right product on schedule but the product was deficient –
well, you get the idea. It’s a typical Monday morning.
Your customer calls to express
displeasure in language that is neither diplomatic nor tactful, and now
you feel obligated to write a letter of apology.
Where do you begin?
Well, you don’t have to begin at the
beginning. Most successful customer relations letters are written
according to a five-part formula:
1. G oodwill
greeting and reference
Open your letter on a positive note. Use
a personal tone. "Thank you for your phone call . . ." or "Thank you for
taking the time to explain your concern regarding . . ." are good,
standard openings. Make specific reference to the problem and to any
previous communication. Indicate that you understand the problem and that
you are committed to correcting it.
2. Statement
of apology or empathy
Offer a straightforward apology ("I
apologize for the inconvenience. . ." or "I’m sorry that . . ."). Use
language that acknowledges the reader’s perspective ("I understand how
frustrating it must have been to . . .").
3. Explanation
of the problem’s cause
Explain what went wrong, but do it
briefly. If you go on for too long, your explanation may begin to sound
like a lame excuse. Keep your focus on what is relevant and important to
your customer, not on what prevents you from meeting your customer’s
expectations or what makes your job difficult or challenging.
4. Proposed
solution to the problem
Be clear and specific about what action
you have taken or will take to correct the problem. Offer assurances that
might restore your credibility. Consider a goodwill gesture – a gift
certificate or a reduced price on the next order – to offset negative
feelings. If you are unable to resolve the issue to your customer’s
complete satisfaction, explain why.
5. Goodwill
closing
Close by reminding your reader of your
respect and goodwill. You may want to repeat your apology ("Again, I am
sorry that . . ."). Stress your desire to preserve a good relationship.
Your wording here can be simple and direct, as in "We value your business"
or "We want to continue offering you the quality service you expect from
us." Because the reader expects this customary tag, closing without it may
seem abrupt.
In addition to following this five-part
formula, beware of three common errors in writing letters of apology. As
Rosalie Maggio advises in How To Say It (Prentice Hall, 1990), here
is what not to say:
•Do
not inadvertently imply that your reader is at fault. Sometimes an
"apology" can sound like an accusation.
•Don’t write in a begrudging
tone. Apologize wholeheartedly.
•Do not acknowledge that you or
your company was negligent. If negligence is an issue, consult with an
attorney regarding the wording of your letter.
There you have the do’s and don’ts of
writing customer relations letters. Remember: The key is to write from
your reader’s perspective. If you re-establish goodwill, and the rest is easy.
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“Letters from a Nut” test customer service
By Stephen Wilbers
Author of 1,000 columns
published in the Minneapolis Star Tribune & elsewhere
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I cannot, in good conscience,
recommend that you have fun at someone else’s expense, as Ted Nancy does
in Letters from a Nut (Avon Books, 1997). But I find Nancy’s
bizarre requests and suggestions so delightfully absurd that I can’t help
laughing as I read them. Out loud.
In addition to great
entertainment, Nancy’s collection offers important lessons to anyone whose
job it is to respond to customer requests, whether those requests be
reasonable, absurd, or downright wacky.
Take every
request seriously.
Reading the letters and
responses, one might naturally ask, “How could anyone be so gullible as to
take this guy seriously?” But I commend the people who responded to
Nancy’s nonsense. You never know when you might convert an eccentric
complainer into a loyal customer.
For example, Frito-Lay takes
Nancy seriously when he describes his dismay at discovering that the
contents of a package were not only “curled” and “hard and crunchy” but
also “salty.” Frito-Lay acknowledges his “interest in our products and our
company,” includes a list of their other snack products, and tells him,
“We hope you will always look for Frito-Lay products whenever you are
looking for great-tasting snack foods.”
Likewise, when Nancy writes
to Nordstrom asking if he can buy a mannequin that bears an uncanny
resemblance to his deceased neighbor (“In every way–nose, cheekbones,
hair, etc. Look at it from any angle.”) so that he can present it the
family, Bruce Nordstrom himself responds: “Yours is one of the most
interesting requests I have ever received. Candidly, I can’t imagine any
family who has lost a loved one wanting to see a mannequin that resembles
that person.” But Nordstrom also explains how Nancy can make the purchase.
Know when to say
no to special requests.
There are, however, limits to
what a company should do to make a customer happy, and Nancy delights in
testing them.
When he asks the
Flamingo Hilton in Las Vegas if he can gamble in his lucky clothes (“I
will be dressed as a shrimp. That is a reddish veiny body outfit with a
brittle curved fantail. The top of my head will be hardish and crunchy and
have tarter sauce on it. [Not real!] I will wear orangish foam shoes that
match the rest of the outfit.”), the Hilton declines, fearing that “the
high level of activity created by the outfit . . . might be too
distractive.” Nevertheless, it invites him to visit and “gamble in street
attire.”
And when he asks
the Woodmark Hotel on Lake Washington if he can bring 2,200 red ants
(“These ants ARE NOT pets, so your NO PETS rule should not apply. I travel
with these ants for a reason. I watch them. It calms me down. . . I like
watching them moving about the room. They carry a crumb across the room
and I watch this. It has a very calming effect on me and helps me with my
business.”), the Woodmark turns him down cold.
Answer humor
with humor.
Of course, when you are
reasonably certain that someone is pulling your leg, you might want to
join in the game, as the American Seating Company does in responding to
Nancy’s quandary about the proper way to face the people who are sitting
down when you exit your seat in a stadium (“Rear to them or crotch to
them?”):
“Alas, we have no good
answer. . . The only suggestion we could come up with is for you to come
early before anyone has arrived, stay in your seat for the entire time,
and wait until everyone else has gone before leaving.”
Then
the writer observes wryly, “This, of course, could cause an even more
embarrassing problem.” |
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Seminars &
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PR letters follow 5-part formula
By Stephen Wilbers
Author of 1,000 columns
published in the Minneapolis Star Tribune & elsewhere
Well, it happened again. Another
apology letter – this one from Northwest Airlines – and, like
most well-written apology letters, it followed a five-part
formula:
1. Goodwill
opening
2. Apology
for empathy statement
3. Explanation
of the problem
4. Good
news or bad news
5. Goodwill
closing
The author was Kristen Shovlin,
Director of Customer Care and Refunds. (What a title! Reading
her letter, I did in fact feel well cared for.)
Like most effective customer
relations and PR letters, this one had a carefully worded
opening and closing. It defined and affirmed relationship
between the writer and me, the reader.
When you are writing to
apologize – or to deliver any message in a delicate situation –
your goal in your opening is to create goodwill. Your goal in
your closing is to affirm relationship.
See what you think of the
letter, written in regard to a two-hour delay that caused some
travelers (though not me) to miss their connecting flights in
Minneapolis:
"On behalf of all the
employees at Northwest Airlines, I would like to take this
opportunity to offer you our immediate and sincere apology for
the disruption of your travel on July 25, 2006."
Combining goodwill opening and
apology, Ms. Shovlin creates an effective tone by invoking the
name of the organization while also addressing me in the first
person ("I"), thus lending credibility to her personal-sounding
voice. Not a bad start.
"We recognize that travelers
want dependable and convenient service and we realize that we
did not achieve that standard for your flight. We thank you for
your patience and understanding."
Again, well done – a great
example of empathy, or seeing a situation from the other
person’s viewpoint. I did feel affirmed, but to be honest, I
actually hadn’t been all that patient and understanding. Still,
I appreciated the ploy: It’s standard practice to state the
desired behavior and then thank the reader for exhibiting it. So
far, so good.
Now for the explanation of the
problem:
"On July 25, a problem
developed with a computer system that facilitates communications
between Northwest’s main distribution system and some of our
airport computer systems" – then some detail about bringing the
system back up and using redundant systems and manual back-up
plans "to minimize the impact on our customers."
Enough. If Ms. Shovlin had
gone on much longer, her explanation would have begun to sound
like a lame excuse. The trick here is to say enough, but not too
much.
Now for the good news: 7,500
miles added to my WorldPerks account. OK, I accept. And, yes, I
do feel better about the delay.
The self-congratulatory tone
of the goodwill closing was tempered by a second admission that
a problem had occurred:
"I pledge to you that we are
dedicated to providing good service. Our on-time record speaks
for itself. Unfortunately, in this situation, our reliability
suffered.
Thank you for your support as
a WorldPerks member and for flying Northwest Airlines."
My pleasure. Now, what to do
with those 7,500 extra miles. Hawaii in November? |
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