The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a severe economic strain throughout the world. Due to the restrictions plus health recommendations, the economic flow was interrupted, and most companies had to close. The U.S. government was concerned about this and decided to launch an initiative that consisted of in-delivery stimulus, which had its pros and cons. One of the problems is that some companies or business owners report that people working for them have little interest in going back to work since the government is taking care of their financial needs. McDonald’s is among the businesses affected by understaffing, which meant that services would be slower than expected. To counter this, they used a yellow sign at their entrance that apologized to customers for the lack of human resources to serve them quickly. The strategy has helped as many expressed their solidarity with the business, even though social media platforms. The business was wise enough to empower the employees to handle the service recovery without seeking permission from management. McDonald’s applied the best strategy, and it worked well for them since they even received support from the public, which shows the people’s loyalty to the business.
However, there are other strategies that the business would have used in case the apology did not succeed, for instance, taking full ownership of a problem, solving the problem, getting to the root of the matter, offering some additional services plus following up with the customer. A business needs to empower its employees to accept when they are wrong or have made a mistake and find ways to correct it. Business management needs to allow its employees to have control plus see their effort plus time to solve issues raised by the customers, which means letting them utilize business resources to assist customers in recovering from any service breakdown instead of referring them to management.
Studies suggest that after apologizing to customers plus taking responsibility for the problem, getting to the root of the problem is very important to prevent such occurrences in the future. McDonald’s would use this after or before the apology sign and find why employees do not wish to return. Getting to the root of the problem allows a business to prepare for the future.
Another brilliant strategy is offering something extra to customers. Customers may have been greatly inconvenienced by service lapse, plus it is not enough to provide the same service they ought to have received initially. A business may need to give additional something, for instance, a free month’s subscription. It is advantageous to develop creative ways to restore customer contentment with a business’ products plus brand. A point to remember is that customers have been stressed out plus inconvenienced by the service matter, plus the business needs to go an extra distance to make up for the trouble.
Furthermore, it is essential to follow up with customers after dealing with their problems. After closing conversations with customers, (Harrison-Walker, 2019) indicates that it is vital to remember to follow up with them to check whether they are content with the resolution. This result is accomplished by sending a follow-up email or phone call. Through this, a business can identify and address other issues of the customer. Also, it is good to let colleagues understand that the victim of service breakdown is the customer. Any more interaction with them is done with that knowledge to avoid the customer explaining themselves every time.
References
Harrison-Walker, L. J. (2019). The critical role of customer forgiveness in successful service recovery. Journal of Business Research, 95, 376-391.