Nonprofit Customer Service: Learning from United’s BIG Mistake

You may have heard about the most recent viral video to take over the web, ”United Breaks Guitars“. The song, written and sung by David Carroll, is a catchy tune that recounts his year long odyssey to be compensated by United Airlines for his $3,500 Taylor guitar that was damaged by their baggage handlers during a flight from Halifax to Omaha. He tells of watching his guitar being thrown around on the tarmac at O’Hare airport, discovering it was damaged and running the United customer service gauntlet for a year to finally be told that United would not pay to replace the guitar.

Instead of going quietly into the night like many of us do, David Carroll made a music video and posted it on YouTube on July 6. The video has gone viral on the web and as of July 13 was viewed more than 2.5 million times, received more than 13,000 comments, been discussed on national news programs, and has led to interviews for Mr. Carroll on morning talk shows. The video even got United to admit their mistake and offer to pay for a new guitar on July 10. Mr. Carroll responded with a video statement declining the new guitar and instead noting that two more videos about the incident are still to come.

What can nonprofits learn from this customer service disaster?

Nonprofits should always remember that great customer service is KEY, if not king. All nonprofits service customers- whether they are members, donors, or beneficiaries. All nonprofits have people they need to treat well and assure that their concerns are listened to and answered appropriately. The reason is a disgruntled member, donor, or beneficiary can act like a cancer in your organization and spread discontent to others. For just as good news spreads fast, bad news spreads even faster.

Once there is a bad story, incident or even impression out about your nonprofit it is very difficult to stop and could eventually lead to the huge public relations disaster experienced by United. In effect, United has now ceded control of their public relations image to the power of one disgruntled passenger and will likely have to spend millions of dollars to improve their image going forward. All of which probably could have been avoided for, at the most $3,500, and possibly at the very least a little better customer service in the beginning by United.

I recognize that not every problem or complaint is valid nor can they all be addressed to the satisfaction of the customer, but at the heart of this issue is continued poor customer service. Nonprofits need to take note of this example and take better care of their customers be they members, donors, or beneficiaries. Here are some thoughts that might help your nonprofit avoid a complaint from becoming a full blown “United Breaks Guitars”.

1. Listen – No, I mean really listen to your customer to find out what his/her problem is and more importantly what he/she thinks would be a satisfactory resolution.
2. Apologize – This is usually a tough thing to do but it does help. Even if the complaint does not seem legitimate it is always useful to establish an understanding by apologizing. At the very least you can apologize for having made your customer feel so upset that they needed to contact your nonprofit. You are not validating their issue, but merely stating that your organization never wants to upset anyone.
3. Inform - Share with the customer the knowledge you have regarding the situation and what potential remedies are available. In this way you are demonstrating you are not trying to hide anything and all possible remedies will be considered. If there is no remedy that matches their satisfactory resolution then see if one of the resolutions available would also satisfy them. Also, inform them that this is hopefully a rare incident of customer dissatisfaction and you will do you best to remedy the situation.
4. Satisfy, compromise, and resolve – Not all customer issues can be resolved to the satisfaction of all parties but making the sincere effort to resolve it goes a long way. If a complete resolution cannot be found try to find a compromise. If no resolution can be found at all then make it clear to the customer that you are very sorry and the nonprofit’s best effort was made to resolve the issue. Be sure to leave on a positive note even if the customer could not find the satisfaction they desired.

If the customer’s issue looks like it is getting out of control or escalating quickly be sure to involve your superiors immediately and always document the exchange from beginning to end.  Sometimes customer issues cannot be resolved, but in the end it is about putting your best foot forward and realizing that one disgruntled customer lead to thousands of disgruntled customers.

I’m no expert in customer service, but I think ”United Breaks Guitars” is a great example of why world class customer service should be a priority for all nonprofit organizations. Your members, donors, or beneficiaries may not be part of a band or able to write catchy little tunes, but you never really know how much influence they have, so each one should be treated well if they call you looking for customer service!

Please leave some of your customer service tips or horror stories in the comments below. Thanks.

Resources on providing customer service:

Customer Service Tips in Nonprofit Organizations http://www.gaebler.com/Customer-Service-in-Non-Profit-Organizations.htm

Customer Service for Nonprofits http://www.fundraising123.org/article/customer-service-nonprofits

10 Customer Service Tips http://sbinfocanada.about.com/od/customerservice/a/custservtipslt.htm

The Ten Commandments of Great Customer Service http://marketing.about.com/od/relationshipmarketing/a/crmtopten.htm

60 Customer Service Tips for Entrepreneurs http://www.toiletpaperentrepreneur.com/blog/50-quality-customer-service-tips-for-entrepreneurs

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