One Bad Experience Can Lead to Customer Defection

!https://customercount.com/images/23.jpg!

One Bad Experience Can Lead to Customer Defection
By: Marc E. Carlson, RRP
CustomerCount© Business Relationship Manager

Last night my family went to a restaurant that we had only visited once before. We figured “why not try the restaurant again since the last visit was not too bad”. Shortly after sitting down, our server came over to take our drink order and I asked her about what their restaurant is known for from a food standpoint. She then gave me a list of five items and then went proceeded to bring our drinks. Then, it went downhill. While taking our order for food, you could sense her patience with us was diminishing. After the waitress walked away, my daughter commented that she saw the waitress roll her eyes after my wife asked a question about a menu item. Well, that did not sit well with the Mrs. A couple of the meals came to us incorrectly prepared and my wife was never asked if she would like another drink which she really could have used to cool her jets. Before paying the bill, we both said to each other that this is the last time we come into this restaurant because there are many other options to choose from for dining.

Whether or not the waitress was having a bad day, her attitude towards customer service should not be affected by that. Now, because of one bad customer experience, the restaurant has lost a customer. Sometimes we are given a small window to win over a customer and yet it can only take one bad experience to make customer choose a competitor. We should all keep this in mind the next time we are talking to a customer, prospect or even a client. Why take the chance of losing a customer over bad service or communications? Remember, it can only take one bad experience to lose future revenues from that lost customer let alone the derogatory comments that customer will share with their friends and family.