What Comes First: Good News or Bad News?

Good News Bad NewsWhen you drop the ball at work or in your home life, how do you handle it? Whether you are delivering information to a client, co-worker, Customer, family member or friend, it is important you know how to navigate this conversation.
When someone asks you, “What do you want first, the good news or the bad news?” how do you usually respond?

 

9efec861 9e55 4c44 Bca9 B229982876c8, The DiJulius GroupIn the book When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing, by Daniel Pink, he references several studies that have found 4 out of 5 people “prefer to begin with a loss or negative outcome and ultimately end with a gain or positive outcome, rather than the reverse.” According to Pink, human beings always prefer endings that elevate when given a choice.

Dave Murray, Senior Consultant at The DiJulius Group, uses Pink’s philosophy when he is preparing for a public speaking event. Dave keeps a running list of his Customer feedback in a spreadsheet organized by positive and negative comments. Before his speech, he will first re-read the negative comments, so he can focus on how to make improvements. Then Dave reads the positive feedback, so that he ends his preparation on a high note.

* The Customer eXperience Executive Online Academy is now only $3,500

Whether at work, at school, or in relationships, people make mistakes and have to report the bad news. As an organization, it is important to have recovery systems in place to make all things right when they go wrong, thus making your company Zero Risk to do business with. Zero Risk means that when the ball is dropped, all employees are capable of appropriately handling the situation and making it right with the Customer.

Zero Risk companies implement a response protocol that employees are trained to use when Customer challenges occur. While working on Zero Risk protocol with Alpin Haus, their leadership team created a HEROIC model to handle these difficult situations:

Hear: actively listen and take notes
Empathize and apologize
Restate for clarification
Own it
Innovate with options
Confirm and thank
04443e66 833f 4c1c A90e 11046733efb6, The DiJulius Group
In addition to going through the HEROIC model, the staff is trained to ask, “Is there anything else I can do for you today?” By owning the problem or mistake and offering innovative solutions, the Alpin Haus team always ends on a good note!

 

As seen in the chart below from Customer Thermometer, when we drop the ball or make a mistake, our Customer loyalty decreases. However, notice Customers experiencing service failure with a successful recovery are ultimately MORE LOYAL than those who don’t experience any service failure at all. It should be inspiring to know that the silver lining of making a mistake may be to create a more loyal Customer when a successful recovery plan is in place.

 

42ba7030 Cd72 48ee A63d 4336caadc6c0, The DiJulius Group

 

Do you have the proper recovery plan in place? Whether it is Customers, clients, co-workers, family members or friends, ending with good news provides a lasting positive image of you and your company.

 

Register to see John present at TEDx

Come see an amazing lineup of inspirational speakers at the TEDx event on April 21, 2018 at the Goodyear Theatre in Akron, Ohio. One of the presenters is John DiJulius whose topic will be “Meet as Strangers, Leave as Friends.”

The $3,500 Investment that can raise your level of Customer Service!

Certified Customer eXperience ExecutiveRegister today for this comprehensive online course guaranteed to raise the level of Customer Service your company delivers. The Customer eXperience Executive Online Academy (CXEO) follows the trademarked X Commandment methodology used by The DiJulius Group with some of the top companies in the world. The Customer eXperience Executive Online Academy coursework is designed to prepare leaders like you, looking to move into a whole new level of leadership in your career, to the benefit of both yourself and your company. Students will require 10-15 hours a month to learn the importance of every aspect of this methodology, and how to implement and execute on each one.

Questions? Ready to register? Contact Claudia at: Claudia@thedijuliusgroup.com

 

It is truly revolutionary. The course navigation is very user-friendly. I can go back to completed courses to refresh some ideas and concepts.

We are in the process of creating our Service Vision and Pillars with the team and are looking forward to the “A Day In The Life” exercise. 

P. Pelayo
COO
AGP Corporation

 

4e22fca967f24d5c943cbb8ee0b32200, The DiJulius Group
About The Author

Jess Pischel

As a former Customer Experience Consultant with The DiJulius Group, Jess  leads clients in generating ideas, turning those ideas into systems, and then implementing and executing them enterprise wide.