customer service thoughts

last night i had an insight about customer service.

when you're dealing with people and something goes wrong, it's nice to have the ability to do something for the customer that doesn't require managerial assistance.

what made me think of this:

one of my tables was a single lady who ordered a steak cooked well. we were really busy and there was a part of her steak that wasn't cooked as well done as other parts of the steak. she decided to tell me when she was done rather than when i could have done something about it. later, my manager said that if this ever happens i can always offer a gift certificate to come back. it's having those types of offers, deals, and concessions in my back pocket that really allow employees to offer good customer service.

my past experience:

i was flying home from switzerland through the netherlands and KLM accidentally sold my seat. before they told me exactly what had happened, they took me out of the busy terminal into their executive lounge and explained what happened and the concessions they were going to make. i think my experience and my relatives' reactions were a lot better in a subdued space away from where they could raise a stink and make a scene. because of our concerns, they were able to offer us cash or flying vouchers. this made things a lot more pleasant.

questions:

is there a way we could either modify the space or customer service to improve the overall experience?

is there a tool that we could give airline staff to make things better?