Over the weekend, I visited one of my banks ATM machines on the opposite side of town that I live and it ate my card.
No explanation, no acknowledgment that it had my card, it just took it and then ignored the fact that it had my card, by asking me again to, "Please Insert Card".
I watched as the next person did their transaction and asked if they had any problems with the machine, and they did not.
So when I got home I called the banks 24/7 customer service line and told them what happened. The customer service person on the phone was apologetic and asked if there was another card (my wife's) that I could use to access funds. I told them I would be fine, and that I'd stop by the bank Monday to retrieve my card. She put a hold on my card after confirming legitimate transactions I made before losing my card.
So yesterday, I go to the bank and tell the teller what happened. She she went out to the machine and retrieved my card and told me they've been having problems with their new ATM machine recently. She reactivated my card, I tested it out, got my cash and thought nothing more about it.
Until today.
Today I read the Church of the Customer blog article that you're about to see. And it got me to thinking about the customer service experience I went through with my bank.
I was fortunate. I had access to other funds that I used for a couple days. But what if I didn't? What about that customer that doesn't have a credit card for emergencies that used the ATM after hours and his gas tank was empty, he needed to buy food for the family and his good old reliable routine of going to the ATM on Saturday afternoon to deposit his check and get some cash, wasn't reliable anymore?
What would he tell his family? Sorry, no food, no money, no gas to go anywhere, no bank card to go to Home Depot and get those items to work on the project that he was planning on finishing that afternoon. Cancel the cookout, etc.
You get the picture.
The reason this is an issue is because the bank teller told me they have been having problems with their new ATM machine, so they knew that there was some risk, and yet they failed to notify their customers.
I could have gone to a different ATM and everything would have been fine.
Now check out this from the Church of the Customer Blog:
Regular readers may know I'm a big fan of J.Crew, the apparel retailer.
My affection deepened with this email. I didn't know the company was having problems with the website, but a quick Google search showed people having issues. Bad word of mouth from mistakes spreads quickly when others experience it simultaneously.
Mickey Drexler and Tracy Gardner effectively dumped a big load of neutralizer on the spread of bad buzz, and they set expectations for anyone else who might run into the problem. They didn't do it behind a cloak of corporate anonymity or force a spokesperson to absorb the hit.
To admit a mistake is to humanize your company.
Then, of course, work like crazy to fix the problem. Go overboard in making things right. That can turn the spell of bad word of mouth into good buzz.
BONUS LINK: A great discussion on SWOM is about the in's and out's of apologizing to customers for mistakes.
By the way, here' s a link to one of the website problems that J.Crew experienced. Click Here.
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