No one wants to disappoint a customer or client, whether it’s telling them a product they ordered is out of stock or that an appointment has to be rescheduled. How they respond to it will vary depending on how you inform them of the news and in avoiding negative words they will take the news better.
It’s important though to always give a customer or client as much notice as possible that you can’t deliver as you said you would. Secondly, a customer is likely to forgive one slip-up but definitely not a second so when you do promise to do a better job, make sure you deliver or even over deliver!
You could throw in a freebie or a discount for a future purchase. Relaying bad news to a customer can go one of two ways depending on your delivery and how you put a positive spin on it.
Here’s some of our best tips for cushioning the blow for delivering less than desirable news…
Instead of “We don’t have that product in stock.”
Try “Our product lines are constantly reviewed to ensure the customer receives the best possible quality and as a result you’ll receive a new to market product as soon as they hit the shelves.”
Instead of “Your food order has only just been seen and won’t be ready for a while.”
Try “Good news! We’ve just put some fresh food in the oven and they’ll be piping hot and your order is the first to be dealt with.”
Instead of “We can’t attend the appointment to measure up.”
Try “We pride ourselves on doing the best job possible and to ensure this happens for you we want to
ensure we come to you at a time that a thorough job can be completed so the end product is precise.”
Instead of “Your delivery is going to be late.”
Try “We have had some delays at our warehouse which are out of our hands so your order is taking a little longer to ship. You can expect your order on (date). This is not the customer experience we want to
offer our customers and we’re doing everything we can to deliver your item. Thanks for bearing with us.”