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April 24, 2009
How to apologize
Over the years, we've featured several ways to apologize for service problems.
This is my all-time favorite apology.
Beth introduces us to Ramon De Leon, who owns several Domino's Pizzas stores in Chicago. Ramon apologized to a customer named Amy recently when one of his stores fouled up her order.
What I love about Ramon's video apology:
- He's not reading from a script.
- He includes the general manager of the store in question, who performs his video penance well.
- He apologizes with flair, not like a corporate drone.
It's the flair, of course, that pushes this video apology over the top, making it something Amy, her friends, co-workers -- and those of us immersed in customer experience minutiae -- are sure to talk about, if not love.
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I actually had not seen this yet. But now that I have I am thoroughly impressed. Way to go Lincoln Park and their Domino's team for creating an honest, thorough and creative message. I'm no longer afraid to buy Domino's (at least in Chicago).
It's nice to someone admit their mistake and ask for another chance to show that it isn't normally how they do business. And, even if they didn't sell Amy, the video may convince others that see it to give them a try.
TO be honest I won't buy their pizza anyway because their sauce is disgusting, but I am impressed with the genuine response. You do not often see that from a large company.
Wow! This message is really impressive! It takes guts to stand up in front of a vast anonymous audience, admit to everyone that in one instance something went wrong and that this will not happen again. I'm thrilled! And the style is indead authentic. I would get a pizza from them anytime after having seen this video. Great!
Besides, it is a very wise thing to do! As research indicates, unsatisfied customers are more loyal in cases where the problem has been solved in a way beyond their expectation. This is way beyond. This is great ... branding!
Ben, thanks so much for highlighting this video apology. I love the sincerity, but the bigger message is how tied in Dominos is to Web 2.0 - the customer obviously sent a Tweet complaint. Imagine if the district manager wasn't fully utilizing the social media to stay connected to their customers. So many people say, "I don't need to be involved in social media - I just have a single store and just serve my immediate community." Here is an example of how social media was used by a customer and effectively responded to by the business manager.
Excellent job!
Deborah Chaddock Brown
Make or Break Moments
I'm impressed. I haven't bought from Domino's in a long time but I have to say if I was in the area I would definitely grab a pie. This is an effective use of social media and responding to a customer.
Ramon De Leon took a bad situation and put a positive spin on it. Brought our attention to the mistake, apologized and set a course to correct it.
Stuart -- No longer afraid to buy Domino's... that's an important and salient point. I'm guessing it's because you can see that there are people behind Domino's who'll put themselves on the line in this way.
Kate -- Good point. The product may not be for you, but Ramon's style of leadership is.
Deborah -- Thanks for including the point about Twitter. I'm adding that to the post as part of the nuance of customer service.
It's refreshing to see Domino's put themselves out there by responding quickly, admitting fault, and rectifying the situation so that the customer is ultimately satisfied. Kudos to them for thinking outside the (pizza) box. I would love to see more companies using these tactics in an unscripted, honest way.
What a great idea! This guy beats out a lot of "Social Media Experts" out there when it comes to implementing Web 2.0 for daily customer interaction. Brilliant! We are going to start seeing so much more of this in the coming months! look for more creativity and better interaction with costumers!
@ATasteForTea
That's a great video...I'd like to see more companies offering themselves up like this...it's definitely endearing.
i'm the biggest cynic in the world & I have to say -- DPZ Ramon is the shit.
It wasn't the big face of Dominos that put themselves out there...it was the owner of one Domino's in Chicago and his employee that went the extra mile and came up with an outstanding and sentimental apology. This video makes me want to stop by and say hello next time I'm in Chicago just to say KUDOS. Nice work guys!
This is a great apology, but isn't it a little excessive? Sure they screwed up, but the time it takes to create this type of apology is a bit of a time commitment. It is sincere, but it also lacks the immediacy that makes an apology work in the first place.
And will every customer who has a prob. with this Domino's franchise start expecting a video apology? Seems a little unrealistic to me.
I think an immediate text or call back would be just as personal as a video message, it would take far less time, and could also be seen as more genuine that a public facing video apology.
Just my two cents.
Fermata -- Werd.
Lisa -- That it's a franchise owner rather than a corporate guy makes the video more authentic. When it comes to brand ownership, it goes like this:
Customers --> Franchise owners --> Corporate
Seth -- An over-the-top apology is what makes it buzzworthy. Is he going to do this every time? I doubt it. He's sending a message to customers, Tweeters and, perhaps most importantly to his employees, that he hates screw-ups and will hold himself and everyone accountable.
I agree with Ben. You don't need to do it every time, this one time created the buzz and puts the customers on notice that these guys are serious about making things right....it also sends a great message to the employees that everyone, right up to the owner has expectations about how mistakes get handled.
I agree, Ben/John. It may have been over the top, but I loved how Ramon "reprimanded" the manager in a way that allowed him to add his personal apology and promise to do better next time. We all make mistakes. But so few own up.
I also love the end - a true marketer at heart, Ramon knows he has Chicagoland in his corner - talking to the audience as if they were friends/family coming to his back yard party. I live in Ohio and I want to order from him.
It was charming and real. Key ingredients - ha - pun unintentional but quite clever if I must say so myself. Key ingredients to successfully building relationships with your target audience.
Deborah
This is a joke to me... how can it be anything else? This man's talents are better put to use promoting parties rather than an established business. It doesn't make me want to buy from them or eat their pizza it makes me question their character... he sounds and acts like a clown. This isn't professional it's a music video shout out, Domino's should be able to come up with something better than looking like a street video. Apology sure, no prob, but sounding and acting like a wrestler giving his hype right before he walks into the ring? Tacky.
Thanks for this. What a great example of using new media to humanize a company.
K: I have a feeling you're not the target audience for this particular Domino's franchise; therefore, the fact that you think it's tacky is pretty moot. The reason the video works is precisely why you dislike it. It's amateur. And it's unpolished.
But it's honest. And it resonates with the intended audience. I wish I could get that kind of response from a Domino's in Baltimore. Hell, I wish I could get them to bother picking up the phone when I call to order.
This is awesome I would definitely accept their apology if they had messed up my order. More companies need to do things like this.
They will get more business from this mistake than if they handle it right in the first place. Many small business owners do not realize this. They should apologize and do anything within reason to make the customer happy. They may lose some money up-front, but long-term can make a lot more.Great job.
I'm very impressed with the video and the message it contained. If I received a personal message like that from a company I was frustrated with I would certainly give them another shot. The fact the video is not staged just adds to the appeal and sincerity of the apology.
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