Should there be a Service Recovery System for Customer Failure?
By: Priscila Avila
Tags: Recovery Service, Customer Experience, Airlines, Service Design

Service Recovery

No matter how well designed a service might be, there will be always unexpected situations that will lead to mistakes, bad experiences and dissatisfied customers. A failure in the system, a delayed flight, a wrong delivery, a misspelled name, etc.

Service recovery is the process of responding to failed service experiences with the objective of turning frustrated customers into loyal ones. In a service economy, where companies look to provide seamless and memorable experiences, it is no surprise that a lot of attention and resources are given to service recovery. However, these systems normally apply to situations where the service provider is responsible for the failure, however…

What if it is the customer who fails?

In User-Interface (UI) design, Jakob Nielsen’s heuristics (1994) provide guidance to improve the user experience. Heuristic no. 9 acknowledges that as humans, we make mistakes, therefore, the system should provide a way to diagnose and recover from those errors. If you unintentionally deleted a file or sent an e-mail to the wrong person or hit the Subscribe button by accident, there should be a way for you to Undo it.

But, what happens in the physical world? We still make mistakes but we often don’t get the same chance to undo like we do in digital products.

That day at the airport I ran to the check-in desk and asked for help. My heart was beating fast, I was nervous, I didn’t know what would happen or what would be my options. The airline staff calmly took my ID, checked something in the computer and then told me that my ticket was non-refundable, so my only option was to buy another ticket for 2 hours later, that happened to be extremely expensive. I asked if they could deduct the value of my ticket from the price of the new ticket so that it was not that expensive, or if I could have a better price for being part of their“club premier”. Anything for me to take the next flight and not having to pay that ridiculous amount of money. I had NO for an answer for every option I suggested. There was no service recovery this time because it had not been the airline’s fault, but mine.

I ended up getting a ticket from another airline that was 60% cheaper, only 10 hours later. I spent about 12 hours at the airport that day and I learned my lesson about not getting distracted when waiting to board a plane. Still, that experience left me with a strange feeling about the airline, the response I got and the lack of interest from the staff. Not because they had to give me a free ticket, but at least show some empathy in a situation when someone just missed their flight. It’s very frustrating and even more if you find that the airline is not giving you realistic options and they act as if they didn’t care.

This situation made me think of the question of this post, should there be a Service Recovery System for Customer Failure?

I think yes. Similar to the Nielsen Heuristic example mentioned above, service providers should acknowledge that customers will make mistakes, that they will feel frustrated and they will try to find a way out. Although the service provider might not be responsible for those failures, it will definitely make a difference if the staff, the policies and options provided show that they care, that is is not just a transaction for them, that regardless of whose fault it is, they are there to help. Of course, there might be a consequence for the customer, like paying for another ticket, but there is a feeling of “willingness to help”. What if the airline provided a discount option? Or offered a seat if they plane is not full? Or a “missed flight” special fare? Or even some training for the staff to show some empathy with simple words like: “I am really sorry, but let me see what we can do”. Anything to make the customer feel a little better after that frustrating event, which by the way, is very common (2–8% of flights)

I am not saying that the company should always pay or take responsibility for the customers’ actions. My point is, that a service provider can play a role in the experience of the customer when mistakes happen, not only when they are responsible, but also when the customer is responsible. A simple gesture can make a difference in helping the customer to think clearly and make decisions. This can also result in creating loyal customers, showing that they actually care and that they want to build a relationship that goes beyond the transaction.