In just two interactions, a Business nuked a 20-year client relationship.
There are lessons for all leaders.
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Interaction #1
The customer’s EA booked an appointment with a Massage Therapy Clinic. It was not communicated properly and the customer received a text from their therapist that said” “I’m running behind, we’ll start your appointment 15 minutes later.”
Through some back in forth, the two of them agreed to reschedule.
Two days later, the client received a text from a new manager that they would be charged for the “missed” appointment.
The client explained the situation again much to their frustration. The new manager did not respond.
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Let’s unpack this: The business is struggling with missed appointments.
This is always a challenge in a time-based business. You cannot recover the hour. The therapist loses their wage and the business loses the margin. A margin that funds the rent, the admin, the marketing, the profit etc…
They clearly put a “policy” in place to mitigate this with a new manager.
But this is a blanket policy. It misses the mark completely.
The Scheduling Process is the single most important operational function in service-based businesses that sell time.
There is a reason the Dentist sends you two nudges ahead of your appointment. Some High-end restaurants force a commitment with your reservation.
Every business that manages this process successfully does two things exceptionally well:
1. They are exceptional at preventative measures. They master nudging to help all of us, especially the overcommitted among us, navigate our appointments. They specialize in nudges. Decrease missed appointments. Best of all these can be automated and when they are done well with gratitude and/or humour they actually enhance the customer experience.
2. They manage a robust waitlist and fill up cancellations. They delight a client and save an hour of work.
They execute in service of a customer journey map.
This client has stayed with the clinic as they have rotated through various RMTs. None of that history mattered.
When you treat a customer that has stayed loyal for 20 years as a transaction, you put the relationship at risk. When you treat them with perceived contempt for “missing” an appointment, you take withdrawals from the emotional bank account.
Think about it: How many negative touch points do you need to have in a service to “ruin” your experience? For you to talk critically of that service?
The answer is ONE.
It’s biological. We’re wired to see the negative. And so when you drop the ball, your customer will notice.
And then your ability to keep that client will rely on your response, the emotional bank account you’ve built, and the switch cost (how painful is it to find another option).
You don’t have hostages. You have customers with a choice.
Do your “policies” and rigid processes drive the customer journey and build loyal fans?
Tomorrow we’ll discuss interaction #2
