Tip 84: Turn your customers' frowns upside down

Sometimes unfortunate situations happen. And when those situations are beyond the control of your customer to make better, you can add all kinds of delight to their life by turning their frown upside down. Make a bad situation better. Your customers will appreciate you for it, and will be thankful for you.

Examples

Emirates airlines did that for me by turning some lemons into lemonade. After my flight got cancelled, Emirates made it so I didn’t have to spend another twelve hours in the Shanghai airport. They whisked me and all the other passengers off to a fancy hotel where we could eat, sleep, and get cleaned up. And all for free. It was awesome, and my frown was absolutely turned into a great big smile.
When natural disasters hit, there are often tales of numerous businesses who donate funds and supplies to help those in need. Their generosity in challenging times helps to ease some of the struggle those who are going through the tough times.

Suggestions

Focus on what you can control. When events happen beyond your control that prevent you from being able to serve your customers, spend your energy on what you can do to make the situation better. You can control choosing to spread a little sunshine to your customers.
Be ready to lend a helping hand. When you can do something to benefit customers who are struggling with an unfortunate situation, you’ll be rewarded with something far greater than their money could ever buy in your business.

Application for your business

Write down a time when a business turned a frown you had upside down. How did it make you feel?
Think of an unfortunate situation that has happened to one of the customers in your business. Brainstorm three ways you could have turned that customer’s frown upside down.