My experience as a customer made me understand that as an entrepreneur running a business involves more than offering products or services. It's about building and maintaining “Trust” with customers.
I ordered a cake from a popular vendor with a high rating. Her pastries were the most talked about. I got to know her through my husband, in fact it was from her that he got one of my past birthday cakes. It was the most delicious cake I ever tasted, soft, and not too sweet. It was perfect!
Four months back, I placed an order for a cake for my son's one year birthday. I sent her a screenshot of what I wanted, it was a simple blue cake with sonic cartoons decorations on it. I further ask her if she can make it and deliver it in the morning of the birthday. She said yes, I was so concerned about the outcome that I kept asking her if she can't make it she could send me the designs she can make so I could pick from there but she insisted on being able to make the one sent to her.
She told me her price. I tried to negotiate but she convinced me that the features of the cake were always hard to get and also expensive. So I agreed, in fact I don't mind paying that much for the cake if it's going to be exactly what I paid for that I am getting and it also tastes great.
On that day, I was more than disappointed. At first I thought it was some else's cake they delivered to my house. I took a picture of the cake and sent it to her WhatsApp and then called her to confirm whose cake it was because it doesn't look like mine. She didn't pick up her calls, I was already getting angry. A few minutes later she called and I asked her if that was the cake I ordered. She started apologising, she had an emergency trip which clashed with the birthday so she asked her girls to make the cake but they couldn't get the cartoon design I requested so she asked them to make something nice for me without consulting me.
She made a decision that wasn't satisfactory to me, that was unprofessional. After listening to what she said, I aired my mind on how wrong it is to make decisions for people no matter the circumstances. She raised my expectations and then crushed it.
It was a Sunday, how would I start looking for where to get a blue cake that I would like for my son's first birthday. However, she promised to give me a 20% refund. She was empathetic while trying to convince me to use it. Although I was too angry, I had no choice but to use it anyway, it wasn't what I wanted but it can serve. The taste wasn't hers but it wasn't bad either.
The following morning, I received the refund and later that afternoon she sent me a small banana bread cake with a note that screamed apology. I guess she wants to retain me as her customer and wants me to trust her next time. Will there be a next time? Sure.
The fact that things didn't go as planned this time doesn't mean it won't next time, this doesn't stop her from being a professional since she showed concern towards my dissatisfaction, I will give her another chance.
My experience with how she handled the situation was not expected. I thought it would end with a refund. Going further to make me a banana bread shows how important her customer means to her and I give it to her big time. I would refer people to her anytime I get the opportunity.
As an entrepreneur, I learned that placing your customers' feelings when handling dissatisfaction is very important. I listen by paying close attention to extract the exact problem from what the customer is complaining about, so that I can offer a solution to the problem. Doing this could earn back “TRUST” and a “SECOND CHANCE”.
All images are mine.
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Espanol
Mi experiencia como cliente me hizo comprender que, como emprendedora, dirigir un negocio implica mucho más que ofrecer productos o servicios. Se trata de generar y mantener la «confianza» de los clientes.
Pedí un pastel a una vendedora popular con una alta calificación. Sus pasteles eran los más comentados. La conocí a través de mi marido, de hecho, fue ella quien le hizo uno de mis pasteles de cumpleaños. Era el pastel más delicioso que había probado nunca, suave y no demasiado dulce. ¡Era perfecto!
Hace cuatro meses, hice un pedido de una tarta para el primer cumpleaños de mi hijo. Le envié una captura de pantalla de lo que quería, era una sencilla tarta azul con decoraciones de dibujos animados de Sonic. Además, le pregunté si podía hacerlo y entregarlo la mañana del cumpleaños. Ella dijo que sí, pero yo estaba tan preocupada por el resultado que le pregunté varias veces si, en caso de no poder hacerlo, podía enviarme los diseños que sí podía hacer para que yo eligiera uno, pero ella insistió en que podía hacer el que le había enviado.
Me dijo el precio. Intenté negociar, pero me convenció de que los adornos del pastel eran siempre difíciles de conseguir y también caros. Así que acepté, de hecho, no me importa pagar tanto por el pastel si va a ser exactamente lo que pagué y además sabe muy bien.
Ese día, me sentí más que decepcionada. Al principio pensé que era el pastel de otra persona el que habían entregado en mi casa. Hice una foto del pastel y se la envié por WhatsApp, y luego la llamé para confirmar de quién era el pastel, porque no parecía el mío. No contestó a mis llamadas, y yo ya estaba enfadándome. Unos minutos más tarde, me llamó y le pregunté si ese era el pastel que había pedido. Empezó a disculparse, tenía un viaje de emergencia que coincidía con el cumpleaños, así que le pidió a sus hijas que hicieran el pastel, pero no pudieron conseguir el diseño de dibujos animados que yo había pedido, así que les pidió que hicieran algo bonito para mí sin consultarme.
Tomó una decisión que no me satisfizo, que fue poco profesional. Después de escuchar lo que me dijo, le expresé lo incorrecto que es tomar decisiones por otras personas, independientemente de las circunstancias. Ella había creado expectativas en mí y luego las había destruido.
Era domingo, ¿cómo iba a empezar a buscar dónde conseguir un pastel azul que me gustara para el primer cumpleaños de mi hijo? Sin embargo, ella me prometió devolverme el 20 % del dinero. Se mostró comprensiva mientras intentaba convencerme de que lo utilizara. Aunque estaba muy enfadada, no tuve más remedio que utilizarlo de todos modos, no era lo que quería, pero podía servir. El sabor no era el suyo, pero tampoco estaba mal.
A la mañana siguiente, recibí el reembolso y, más tarde, esa misma tarde, me envió un pequeño pastel de plátano con una nota en la que se disculpaba. Supongo que quiere conservarme como cliente y que confíe en ella la próxima vez. ¿Habrá una próxima vez? Claro.
El hecho de que las cosas no salieran según lo previsto esta vez no significa que no vayan a salir bien la próxima vez. Esto no le impide ser una profesional, ya que mostró preocupación por mi insatisfacción, así que le daré otra oportunidad.
Mi experiencia con la forma en que ella manejó la situación fue inesperada. Pensé que terminaría con un reembolso. El hecho de que fuera más allá y me hiciera un pan de plátano demuestra lo importante que es para ella su cliente, y yo se lo agradezco enormemente. Recomendaría sus servicios a otras personas siempre que tuviera la oportunidad.
Como emprendedora, he aprendido que es muy importante tener en cuenta los sentimientos de los clientes a la hora de gestionar su insatisfacción. Escucho con mucha atención para extraer el problema exacto de lo que el cliente está reclamando, de modo que pueda ofrecer una solución al problema. Hacer esto puede recuperar la «CONFIANZA» y una «SEGUNDA OPORTUNIDAD».
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That's great @ginika! We're excited to see your commitment to Hive! Keep it up!
That wasn't nice of her at all, if you can't meet up, just say so to the client. You're a good person that's why you didn't drag her,post people would've done that lol.
Agreed.
Some people would have tarnished her business, her brand name. But we came to an understanding, there was no need to continue ranting and plus she handled it the best way she can to make me patronise her again and it worked.
She didn't do well. The mistake is very intentional 😂
However, the most important thing here is how she was able to keep you patronising.
Great post!
It looked it o, I was boiling.
Thank you for your time.
Trust is everly the soul of every business, without it there is no business.
That's correct.