Do Not Feel Panic of Lost Customers Learn the Service Recovery Paradox

Service personnel feel anxiety, pain or stress when they lose their loyal customers. Shifting of the loyal customers to the competitors, in spite of sincere and quality service is just a intolerable experience for service and sales staff, still these are usual phenomenon in service sectors such as financial, medical, legal, repairing and maintenance, beauty salon, educational institution, yoga therapy ,etc. After a long duration of loyalty the misunderstanding between the service personnel and the customers causes the wide chasm in their business relationship, behavior and emotional attachments.

Quite often service personnel form an emotional bonding with the customers, which is undelete in spite of the service break.

Let the price and infrastructure of the service providers operating in a market is of similar standard and quality then loyalty depends upon personnel differentiation factors. Means it is the qualification and qualities of service personnel play important role to win loyalty. Quite often it is found the temporary detachment or discontinuity is good for the service provider as well as the service receivers to understands the each other importance.

The cause of dissatisfaction of the customers may be of two reasons: the mistakes by the company or the mistakes or the problems of the customers.

List of Deficiency of Service Provider:

1 - Technical defects (problem in network, machineries, electric supply, etc).
2 - Behavioral problems of service staffs during service encounters .
3 - Scarcity of service amenities resources, instruments and personnel during peak hour.
4 - Inadequate training of customers regarding service process and policies.
5 - Inadequate information before any unusual, exceptional or abnormal, deviations, waiting period time.
6 - May be dishonesty of service staffs.
7 - Service offer may not be meeting the users expectation.
8 - Transfer of service personnel or with transfer of service personnel to the competitor organization, tried to attract his old customer base to his new concern.

All the above reasons may create a gap between the perceived value and the expected value of a customer from a service.

List of Customer Problems and Mistakes :

1 - Inadequate income.
2 - Personal and family problems.
3 - Misguided by the anyone ( friends, relatives, customers, etc).
4 - Emotionally hurt.
5 - Jealousy with the prosperity of service provider, if service provider close friend, relative, known person.
6 - Confusion arise during service dealing.
7- Many cases fault of service provider, the problems may be genuine.
8 - Change in tastes, preferences with age, income, status, recognition and time .
9 - Boredom with one service provider.
10 - May his close relation join some other concern of competitors in same or related area of service who could attract the service receiver, may be his own brother, child or any close relations or friends.
11 - Quite often service receiver need to maintain some minimum norms or policy to enjoy the benefit out of service as in the case of financial, health care, legal services service receiver has to be careful regarding many things. The food and exercises in health care as per doctor guidelines, password security in financial service, practice and sacrifice in education or yoga therapy, etc. In absence of such restriction or norms service receiver does not realize optimum gain out of service and blame the service firm and finally leave it. So proper attention should be taken care by the service firm regarding the service receiver obligation to avail best services, though it is the task of service receiver still if possible some plan or process should be developed to remind the service user.

Potential Cause of Customer:

1 - Service receiver transferred to new place out of income, family or job compulsion, without the knowledge of the service personnel, and service personnel unnecessarily brooding over his mistakes.
2 - Growth of income of the customer may lead him to aspire for better services.
3 - May be getting better offer, financial gain or lessening some of the cost may be physical, time or psychological cost with opening of new branch by competitors proximity to his residence.

Possible Solutions and Progress in Regaining Lost Customers:

1 - The loss of customer may be backed my no of reasons. And service providers should try to minimize mistakes to the possible extent, as the service providers should understand the possible mistakes committed by the service receivers while evaluating the service offer and quality. In spite of all measures and preparation, service staffs should not feel the mental anxiety, stress, tension or emotional breakdown while dealing with loss of customers. As long as the service provider and the service staffs have tried their best they should remain carefree about the customer shifting or discontinuity.

a - From the experience it is being observed the customer during the days of discontinuity realize the importance of estranged company service and the service personnel.

b - If the customer has shifted to the competitors then he compares the services quality offered by the competitors with the service quality of earlier company, through this experience and realizes the differences and returned back to old firm with proper understanding.

2 - Quite often it is found as a result of proper understanding, knowledge and realization customers returned back to the past service providers with firm understanding and believe.

After returning the customer established the firm relationship with the service provider with proper understanding. Earlier relationship may be out of emotion but after realizing the services of other players, re-establish firm rational relationship with the service providers. The service provider need to check the default, departure cases and compare with competitors services, should keep on upgrading self consistently.

3 - If the company is good, efficient and honest then the temporary departure of the customer does not create any harmful effect for company business, rather it makes the business relationship firmer and better with time which is known as service recovery paradox. Temporary departure of customer is not lose to company rather a gain it helps to enjoy loyalty of customer in long run.

4 - Service providers must have enough patience while dealing with customers with sincerity and hard work, should keep on inviting to different events and programs. Should inform the ex customers regarding different promotional offers and benefits. Should keep on wishing on different auspicious dates and deal with smile on any encounters. But never insists, try to please with courtesy, behavior, mannerism and with better service offer. In many often with less fine or official procedure the insurance company motivate discontinued customer to avail the service or to continue. Quite often unprofitable customer turned to be profitable, after rejoining after a long gap. Quite often dealing with ex customers with zero expectation pull them back to the service.

5 - Service provider should change itself with time, trend, and technology quite often service provider developed a sense of complacency with its role and responsibility that should not happen, it should try to explore the possible reasons of dissatisfaction and transform itself with time.

So this situation is paradoxical in spite of the loss of customers, the honest, efficient service firm enjoy the customer loyalty in long run business operation.