Issue link: http://psai.uberflip.com/i/1381388
ASSOCIATIONINSIGHT Portable Sanitation Association International News BIWEEKLY EDITION JUNE 9, 2021 Page 26 Have Bad News for a Customer? Some DOs and DON'Ts By Todd Ginter, PSAI's Director of Marketing Continued on page 27 I spent part of my Memorial Day holiday at a furniture store shopping for a new bed. That is not a day anyone should be inside shopping—but there was a sale going on and I had finally hit rock bottom with the old one. Between researching online for a couple of days and getting a recommendation from a friend, I was ready to go in and buy. The salesperson was fantastic and helped me narrow down the few beds I was looking at to my final perfect selection. We began the process of checking out and I started providing my payment information. That is when the mood changed. The salesperson stopped typing into the computer and, looking directly at me, said, "Delivery of your bed is going to be about three to five weeks." At that moment, I could see the metaphoric walls and barriers going up around the salesperson who was— apparently—waiting for an onslaught of angry words from me. Fortunately for this salesperson, I am someone who is very aware of the struggles to manufacture and transport products right now. On that very weekend, a news story came out from CNN Business referencing the challenges the portable sanitation industry is enduring right now. The article states, "Portable toilet makers are facing a double whammy of high demand and supply chain issues that are making it difficult, and more expensive, to get the raw materials they need." On top of that, there is a shortage of truck drivers. Working with Today's Business Environment The environment in which businesses are now operating means it is likely that you will have to give a customer bad news at some point. Whether you need to explain that there is a delay in getting units to your customers, or that the cost they may have paid in the past will now be higher, these are not fun conversations to have. However, if you know what to say, it can make the task of delivering bad news a bit easier. As a business owner, you may already know the basics of breaking bad news to customers. It's about taking responsibility, especially if a project is running behind, expenses are increasing, or one of your employees forgot to order a key part...but what do you actually say? Prior to working in the PSAI office, I spent 10 years working at a local Chamber of Commerce. During that time, we were constantly working with businesses to help them learn how to run their companies to get the most value. The topic of delivering bad news came up numerous times during my tenure. I have pulled out some of the material that the Chamber provided and believe that now is a great time to share that information with you. Training yourself, your employees, and your field service workers on how to break bad news to customers will help alleviate mistakes that could cause customers to drop your company. Better still, the right approach to sharing bad news can make your customers love you even more than they did before.