Customer service is a noble profession. But some days, it’s just plain tough.

Marc, a customer service associate I met recently would probably agree with that sentiment. I met him on one of those tough days. One of those days when you’re dealing with unhappy customers and things keep going wrong. Marc, who goes to school during the week and works part-time on weekends, met the challenges of a tough customer service day head on and turned things around.

He expertly handled a disappointed guest. I know because I was there.

An employee at a small restaurant and miniature golf establishment, Marc was unlucky enough to pull the Friday night shift that included my son’s birthday party. As it turned out, we were the lucky ones. If we’d had a different customer service associate, I’m not sure what would have happened.

When I made the reservation for the party, the manager assured me that I didn’t have to do anything but show up at the appointed time. I don’t know if past customer service experiences have jaded me or if I am innately skeptical, but I didn’t like the idea of just showing up. As it turned out, my skepticism was well placed.

I called the day before the party to confirm. Or at least I tried. No answer. Then, I tried again the day of the party. Still no answer. How could a business not answer its phone? Why wasn’t there even a recording? I was not happy. I was already beginning to feel like a disappointed guest and the party hadn’t even started.

My children and I piled in the van and we headed over early. “We have a birthday party beginning at 5,” I said. “I tried calling you to confirm, but nobody answered.”

“I’m sorry you didn’t get us,” Marc said. “Our summer hours ended last week. We’re only open Friday nights through Sundays now.”

Marc was all smiles, braces and all. “Let me pull the paperwork for your party,” he said to me. “Why don’t you think about whether you’d like to eat first or play golf first,” Marc said to my son.

So far so good, I thought.

No Reservation

When Marc returned, he asked me what time the party was supposed to start. “Supposed to start?” I thought. Alarm bells began going off in my head.

Evidently, we didn’t have a reservation. Or more accurately, Marc had no record of our reservation. But, he did have a reservation for another birthday party later in the evening.

Great. I was starting to feel like a disappointed guest again. My son’s friends would begin arriving in about 20 minutes. I really didn’t want to change venues.

“Is that going to be a problem?” I asked.

This was the point at which things could have escalated and turned ugly. Marc could have placed blame or failed to take responsibility. I could have become angry. Marc could have become defensive. At the time, I braced myself for an unacceptable outcome and I prepared for a fight.

What I didn’t expect was what happened.

Marc hesitated - but only for a moment. “No. Not at all,” he said. “You can set up in here and I’ll put the other party under the awning. How many pizzas will you need and would you like cheese or pepperoni?”

“Two cheese would be perfect,” I said.

I have to admit I was surprised. Here was this kid, working alone, making his own decisions about how to deal with an unhappy customer. How to deal with an unscheduled party. How to juggle two parties at once.

An Apology

“I’m going to get started on the pizzas,” he said. “I am sorry about the scheduling mix-up. Why don’t you all get something to drink while you’re waiting.”

Wow. This guy is good, I thought. He apologized - not once, but twice - for things that weren’t his fault and he offered a good will gesture. Good for him, I thought. He did it. I was a happy customer.

But, not for long.

A Problem

“We have a problem,” Marc said. “We have no cheese.”

“That’s not a problem, pepperoni will be fine,” I told him.

“No. I mean we have no cheese at all. I can’t make cheese pizza or pepperoni pizza without cheese,” Marc said, sounding frustrated. “We make them to order.”

Ten minutes to party time. The idea of eight hungry children running around flashed before my eyes. It was something I wanted to avoid.

“Is there anything else we can have instead of pizza?” I asked.

An Idea

“No,” said Marc. “But I’m going to call over to the Lodge and talk with the Banquet Manager there. Maybe he has cheese.”

As my son’s friends started to arrive, Marc guided them to the clubs and the balls. “Why don’t you all play golf first and when you’re finished, your pizza will be ready,” Marc said.

Then he said to me, “I left a message for the Banquet Manager, if he doesn’t return my call in 10 minutes, I’ll order pizza for delivery. Do you have a favorite pizza place?”

“You’re going to have pizza delivered?” I said, surprised at this young man’s determination.

Reassurance

“If we have to, that’s what we’ll do.” He told me. “We’ll have pizza one way or another. And it will be ready when the boys are. I’ll make sure of it,” he told me.

“You’ll keep me posted if there’s another problem?”

“Even if I have to find you on the golf course,” he said.

As it turned out, he didn’t have to find me. Evidently, the Banquet Manager called and together they decided it made more sense to go to the grocery store to buy cheese than to order pizza for delivery. (Even though the mini-golf and pizza restaurant is run separately from the Lodge and 18-hole golf course, they share the same name and property, although they sit across the street from one another. And, from the way this problem was tackled, they share a nice working relationship too.)

All I know is that when we finished playing miniature golf, two hot, steaming cheese pizzas were waiting for us.

A Successful Party

The birthday party was a hit. All the children had a great time. And at the end of the day, I was a happy customer.

I’ll go back there because of Marc. I’ll go back there because he cared about us. I’ll go back there because he:

• Listened. Not once did he make us feel like we were the problem.
• Apologized. He accepted responsibility without accepting fault. He didn’t place blame.
• Offered solutions. He was ready with ideas so we could agree on a solution together.

Marc earned his pay that night. And he did so with a smile and more composure than many retailers twice his years. Was it training? Was it the company culture? Maybe. Maybe not.

Maybe it’s just that he takes his job seriously, which is to serve his customers. Do your customer service associates take their jobs seriously? One thing’s for certain. Marc understands that the key to handling a disappointed guest - or any guest for that matter - is to treat the guest as he would like to be treated.

What do you think?

Do your associates treat their guests as they would like to be treated? Do you hire people with a customer service focus? How do you know? Do you have a story about an associate who, like Marc, exemplifies what it means to handle a disappointed guest?

Michele Eby works for Media Partners as a writer and training advisor. She has worked in the training and development field for more than 15 years. A birthday party for her nine-year-old and Media Partner’s customer service training program, “The Difficult Guest” were the sources for this article.

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