A cruise ship captain once said, “There’s always a weird person at your dinner table. If you’re sitting with several couples and you can’t figure out who the weird one is, chances are it’s you. ”The same can be true of customer service. Every business is convinced they offer stellar service but if you can’t think of a company in your area that offers bad service, it might be you. It’s statistically impossible, not to mention an abuse of a super lative, for every business to offer “the best” service. One is better than the other. We aren’t all 5-starsall the time. But that doesn’t mean we can’t learn from the experience. 5 Great Lessons from Bad Service If you’ve recently received some bad reviews or customer service complaints, here’s how you can learn from them.

1. Listen and respond. Most people will give a business another chance if they feel heard and if something was done to remedy the situation. The remedy may be offering a free service, discount, coupon, or other incentive to try your business again. A florist that missed a delivery deadline for a special occasion and failed to communicate the error, credited the customer125% of the order and guess what that customer did? They gave the florist a second chance. This time their delivery and product were flawless. Mistakes happen. Most people understand that.

2. Under promise and over deliver. It’s always good practice to build in a buffer of time (or cost) on a project or delivery. The customer will be pleasantly surprised when it takes less time (or money) than expected. A doctor’s office admin shared that they tell everyone a specific series of testing will take three hours, but it usually only takes two and a half, although it can take three. She said that way everyone is pleasantly surprised and not upset. When they used to tell patients two and a half hours, any minute over that meant angry patients yelling at their staff. Now everyone is prepared and expects three so if it takes less than that, they’re thrilled.

3. Turn a complaint or bad experience into an FAQ on your website. FAQs are a great way to help people get the info they are most curious about, not to mention bring some good SEO your way with a page that ranks highly in important keywords. When you have a misunderstanding with a customer on a process, procedure, sale, or return, ask yourself if other customers could benefit from that understanding. If so, add an FAQ about it.

4. Set a tickler and make a new friend/loyal customer. If you have an incident of lack luster customer service, follow up with them before it is resolved, once it is resolved, and a few days or weeks after it’s resolved. This kind of attention will make your customer feel like you care. It may also be a good reminder to order/buy from you again. Some businesses create a special email campaign to earn trust back again. In the mail campaign, they look to reengage the customer. A handwritten note checking in can also be very effective.

5. Be preemptive. Reaching out after someone uses your services can be an effective way to make an impression. A pet border sends an email to every pet who stays with them thanking them for vacationing there and reminding the pet parent to let them know if they have any questions or concerns. It’s a nice touch and makes pet parents feel like the business cares. This can quell any concerns they may have over the stay and places a friendly face on the service. Disappointing experiences don’t have to be the end of the customer relationship. There are many ways to salvage the relationship and help reestablish trust.

Mother’s Day is an ideal way to honor the women in your life who have helped you become the person you are today. In recent years, it has surpassed the celebration of one’s own mother and encompassed grandmothers, women we think of as second mothers, mother-in-laws, furmoms, best friends, and even female mentors. Mother’s Day is also a great way to honor women in our world who have made a difference. Broadening the definition of mother also allows for a more inclusive celebration on a day that can, for some, be a sad occasion. While everyone may not have a mother living or a good relationship with one who is, everyone has a special woman in their lives who they can celebrate. Mother’s Day can now be transformed into a time to honor those women who have nurtured us and helped us grow, whether they gave birth to us or not. Keep that in mind in your marketing.

27 Ideas to Celebrate Mother’s Day at Your Business, Here are some engaging marketing ideas to celebrate this heart-warming holiday:

1. Host a contest by inviting people on your social media page to share stories about thespecial women in their lives. Allow people to vote on the best and award prizes.

2. Offer a Mother’s Day discount. Offer a discount to your audience and invite them toshare with their favorite moms out there.

3. Give away a Mother’s Day flower (or other free item). Provide a flower to every woman who walks into your store (or buys something from you) and wish them a Happy Mother’s Day.

4. Record a video of your staff telling stories about women who influenced them.

5. Share your mother’s best recipe.

6. Create a gift guide. Work with other businesses to list their items and services as well.

7. Offer last-minute, e-delivery of gift cards.

8. Send reminder emails counting down the days until Mother’s Day with gift suggestions or ways to honor their mom.

9. Create a video of a DIY project for mom.

10. Host a special event moms would enjoy.

11. Create kits of things moms can do with their kids.

12. Create a taster or tester bag, free with purchase to all ladies in your store.

13. Offer a free consultationor roll out a new service for busy moms.

14. Create a page (or landing page) dedicated to Mother’s Day shopping.

15. Create a themed board on Pinterest of gift ideas, places to take your mom, or activities to do together.

16. Offer a “Tell your story”session or memoir writing for moms class.

17. Create a special wine-pairing or tasting event in honor of moms.

18. Host a tea at your business. Encourage people to dress up. Offer prizes for best hat or outfit.

19. Post mother-related quotes on social media in the week leading up to the big day.

20. Hold a Mother’s Day selfie or funniest video contest.

21. Host a photo contest of moms with your product.

22. Offer chair massages for moms while people browse or wait for food.

23. Run a “Caption this” picture contest with an endearing picture of motherhood.

24. Invite people to share pictures they think epitomize motherhood.

25. Encourage people to share generational pics of mom, grandmoms, great grandmoms,etc., or post about how much you miss your mom if she has passed on. You might be surprised how many people identify with this sentiment on Mother’s Day.

26. Host a “Tag your mom (or a special woman)” for a chance to win contest.

27. Post funny questions on social media. Categories could include “hardest working momin the animal kingdom,”“Who has it harder—boy moms, girl moms, both?”, “Signyou’re a mom”, or “This or that” questions “like which would your mom like more as agift—chocolates or jewelry?”.”

Section 132(a) of the IRS code allows employees to pay for their qualified commuting costs (up to specified limits) with pre-tax dollars.  The program was created to encourage commuting in a way that reduces road congestion and improves air quality so qualified expenses include transit passes, vanpooling, bicycling expenses and work-related commuter parking, but excludes the cost of fuel to drive a personal car to work. 

As a pre-tax benefit, the program provides employees with a savings on their federal payroll tax since the designated benefit amount is deducted from their gross income.  If any employees reside in a state that recognizes pre-tax benefits, the savings will increase. Employers who provide this benefit save on payroll taxes since the employer does not include the designated benefit amount in the employee’s gross income.

Qualifications and restrictions of this program include:

• Transit benefits are for any public or privately-operated transit service.  Transit passes, farecards, tokens, vouchers or passes are included. 
• Vanpooling is a valid expense provided that 80% of the mileage is for the transport of employees to and from work, the van must have seating capacity for at least 6 workers plus the driver and at least half the seats must be used.
• Commuter parking is valid if parking is at or near the worksite and the employee commutes to work via transit, vanpool or carpool.  Parking for residential purposes is excluded.

Please feel free to speak to an MBA Advisor for more information and instructions for setting up a Section 132(a) plan.

The Wyoming County Chamber of Commerce offers its members access to My Benefit Advisor as a solution for employee benefits, including voluntary offerings. For more information about My Benefit Advisor, visit our website at wyccc.mybenefitadvisor.com or contact Dawn Card at (800) 377-3539.