Creating a Culture of Continuous Customer Service Improvement and the Powerful Secret of Screwing Up

Mistakes. I don’t know about your laboratory, but in mine the question is not if we’ll make a mistake - it’s when. So how can we benefit from our mistakes? It’s simple really. Each time a mistake occurs (specifically a mistake relating to a customer/laboratory situation) you do three things in the following order:

•    Fix the mistake.
•    Fix the customer.
•    Fix the system.

Using a real life situation that happened once in my laboratory, let’s look at the approach to each one of these steps in more detail.
 
The Situation

We had been courting Dr. W. for a few months. He was in the prime of his practice years and we had information that he was a huge account. He was 12 miles away and the laboratory that he used was in the basement of the medical/dental complex in which he practiced. He started trying our laboratory. The first month he sent about $500 worth of work. The next month, it grew to $1,500. Then it happened. He sent us a three-unit bridge. The day we were glazing and polishing it, we got a phone call from his office saying the patient was in the chair. Where was the bridge?

Fix the Mistake

We told them the bridge would be there in 15 minutes. As we completed the polishing, I typed out the bill.

Your first priority is to fix the mistake and as fast as possible. Do whatever it takes to remedy the situation. Why? Because customers will do business with you again if you fix their problems quickly and correctly.

Fix the Customer

The bill said, “My apologies, the case came in without a due date and we somehow missed it. This case is free. It is our policy that if a patient is in the chair and the case is not there, there is no charge.” We dropped the case into the bag and sent our delivery person flying across town to deliver it.

Ten minutes later, I got a call from the doctor. He had just received the case. The patient was still waiting - it had been a good half hour since he was first seated in the chair.

The doctor said, “From now on, I’m sending you all my work.”

Astounded, I said, “I’m sorry. I don’t understand. We just screwed up big time. Why would you send us all your work?”

He replied, “In 15 years of practicing dentistry, I have heard every excuse in the book from the laboratories I have worked with, but I have never heard one take responsibility for screwing up.”

The next month, his bill was more than $6,000 and continued at or above that level until he retired.

Fixing the customer is an area we have a tendency to overlook because we focus on fixing the problem and we feel that should take care of that. But the feelings and perceptions of the customer still linger. His or her confidence level has been damaged to some degree. Now, the solution is not always to give the case away. Sometimes a sincere apology (donuts, flowers or a nice dinner coupon don’t hurt either) and acknowledgement of our mistake is more than enough. Just remember, fixing the problem is not enough - you must fix the customer also.

Fix the System

After that missed due date, we instituted a new scheduling system that would not allow a case to be in the laboratory for more than one day without having a due date on it.

This is where continuous customer improvement happens. Each time a problem occurs you must go back through the process, not to point fingers, but to find out where and why the mistake happened and how you could implement a system to see that it doesn’t happen again. In the case I cited, we implemented a system that simply will not allow us to have a case in the laboratory for more than one day without it having a due date on it.

The Powerful Secret of Screwing Up

So, what about that related concept - the powerful secret of screwing up? Here’s how it works. Every day we make a restoration and deliver it. Usually, it’s on time. Usually, we follow the prescription. Usually, it fits and looks good. Ho hum. That’s the routine. That’s good, but it doesn’t produce any stories. The stories come when we do something out of the routine (like goof ups). The stories that come out of those times will either be good stories or bad stories.

I can tell you that whenever a group of dentists gather for very long, the conversation will turn to, “Guess what my laboratory did to me the other day.” And the stories will fly. How do I know this? Because the dentist in the above scenario told me of the numerous times he was in those situations at dental conventions and meetings and how he couldn’t wait to tell his story about us. He personally brought us three more very good accounts from telling the story.

So realize that when situations happen, you will create stories (positive or negative) and your customers will tell those stories to other potential customers. Which kind will they hear? That is the powerful secret of screwing up.

Of course, there is one constraint: The screw up must be rare and never repeated, which of course it won’t be if you fix the system that created the mistake.

    * Investigate what mistakes may be happening with your customer service. Don’t trivialize them. A few annoyances can add up to an opening for some other laboratory to satisfy. If the mistakes are people centered - train them! If the mistakes are system centered - change them!
    * Have your customer service team openly invite your customers to comment on and even participate in changing things so you can do better. But remember, the responsibility for changing things is always yours.
    * Never miss an opportunity to create a positive story when you find that you have screwed up! But remember:
          o Do it quickly.
          o Do it with flair.
          o Do it sincerely.
          o Don’t over do it.