One report. Three candidates. Four basic steps to follow.

Abstract: A report on poor customer service presenting three situations from three different establishments.

History: I am always a satisfied customer when I buy or receive service from my favorite stores and shops. But, I dunno what’s happening these days…it seems like they have conspired to give me some poor customer service lately.

Chapter 1. Candidate No. 1 – My favorite watch repair shop

1-1. Brought Mom’s watch for repair. Repairman’s solution: “Replace circuit block, it would take one week.”

1-2. After one week. Got the watch, paid Php400. Me: “Is this OK now?” Repairman confidently nodded. As I was checking it, I noticed something was wrong. Uh-oh… Me: “Excuse me, but the seconds-hand is not moving!!?” He checked it again, did a bit of tinkering, gave back the watch and said, “The battery was not changed. I replaced it already. It’s OK now.” When I went home, I happily gave the watch to its owner. “Thanks ‘ta!” She was very glad to have her watch back. A few minutes later… Mom: “The watch is DEAD?!! Please return this to the repairman ASAP.” Toinks.

1-3. Brought again the watch to the repairman, and as I was about to complain and show him the seconds-hand was sleeping… guess what??! IT moved, ha ha… Repairman said I had to leave the watch for a week so he can observe what the problem was.

1-4. Today. Got the watch, with my Mom tagging along, she was curious about this repair shop. My heart skipped a bit as I checked the seconds-hand… it’s alive. Good. Now the owner is happily wearing it. I hope it won’t give me problems again! I don’t want to go back to that watch repair shop for the nth time… pretty please!!!

Chapter 2. Candidate No. 2 – My favorite department store

2-1. Bought some supplies. Cashier was already punching away at the register when I realized that I wanted to separate our household items from our business supplies. Me: “Is it still possible to erase the punched items from the register?” Cashier: “Yes, I still can.” I heaved a sigh of relief. Me: “I want to pay separately for these.” I pointed out the household items. He gladly accommodated. So, I paid for the business supplies and the household items separately. When we went home, my cutie sis checked the receipt and announced, “That guy forgot to erase the household items from the register, so we paid for it twice!” Uh-oh.

2-2. Went back to the store a few days after. I looked for the guy and guess what… it was his day off. Grrr…of all the days in the week! So they can’t return the money yet coz he wasn’t around. I was advised to leave the receipt so they can talk to the guy when he reports for work. I also left my number so they can call me up about it. Anyway, that was last week, and until now, I haven’t received any call from them. I also haven’t returned to that store again to check on the double payment.

Chapter 3. Candidate No. 3 (and my favorite) – DTI

3-1. Went to the DTI office and applied for a business name. After being asked some basic questions, I was told to follow up after two to three weeks.

3-2. After two weeks. Called up DTI and this was the response I got: “Your application is still being processed.” OK, no probs. The next day, I browsed the DTI website and searched for our business name in the approved section… it’s already there! I was quite surprised they chose our second option, and not the first one. Anyway, it’s fine with me. There was just a big problem though…. a space in between the characters where it shouldn’t have been. Is it really important? Yes, it is that important! I didn’t waste time in calling up DTI…

3-3. Over the phone. Me: “I saw in the website our application is approved already, but something’s wrong. You placed a space in between N and C.” DTI staff: “Oh, because you wrote it with space in between.” Me: “No! If you looked carefully, there is an even bigger space between the other words. The name should be just one word, don’t separate it with a space.” DTI staff: “I would have to edit it, it would take another two to three weeks for the processing.” Grrrr… Wait again!? Duh…

3-4. Next day, DTI called me up! “I already corrected your business name. You can get your certificate now.” Hmmm, I thought she said it would take another two weeks? Good work DTI! It was a busy day though, and I forgot all about it. Later that evening, I checked the website… Oh no, not again! The name was already corrected to one word, with no space in between, but this time, the letter S is lacking at the end! Grrrr…another error.

3-5. The next day, I called up DTI and pointed out the mistake. The staff told me she would change it and explained that she was typing so many documents every day, that’s why.

3-6. Yesterday. She called me up telling me I can pick up the certificate, and the name was already corrected. The best thing was, she apologized and said the magic word ‘SORRY’. That’s what made her my winner among the other ‘candidates’ who didn't bother to say this simple word. I checked the website immediately, and there it was, our approved business name… finally, with no errors. Whew.

Conclusion: Thinking about the three situations made me also ponder about our current business project with my siblings. We are starting a new business ourselves and we would also be dealing with clients. Of course, we aim to give our very best in service and product quality, but mistakes cannot be avoided, right? Even my favorites made some mistakes – too much pressure at work could be the main reason. Well, in our case, if things would go wrong though, these four basic steps would be our guide:
1) Acknowledge the mistake,
2) Be very quick to say SORRY,
3) Make the necessary corrections, and
4) Do something extra nice to win back your clients’ trust.