Meeting the Happiness Engineer …
I was very upset to find out that my account had incorrectly been charged for a service that I did not want.
When I received the digital receipt for my transaction, I immediately responded to the email to communicate that I was unhappy about being charged incorrectly, and could they kindly arrange a refund.
I braced myself for the 10 follow-up emails and negotiations that would ensue so that I could eventually have some hopes of reclaiming my $35.88.
To my VERY pleasant surprise, I received a very prompt response from a real person (despite being a large international company) named Sarah W. who was the “Happiness Engineer”:
“No problem! I’ve gone ahead and refunded your account. You should see that appear in your bank statement within a week.
I’ve removed the upgrade, and you will not be charged again.
If you have any more questions about our service, please don’t hesitate to reach out! We are happy to help. Have a wonderful day!
Sincerely,
*Sarah W. – Happiness Engineer”
I’m half considering framing Sarah’s response and hanging it on the wall, then writing on their Facebook wall, Tweeting, Instagramming, and hashtagging their team to express how satisfied I am with how they have handled this matter.
I still recall reading one of Richard Branson’s books where he tells a story on the importance of complaints handling. Since then I have always said to myself, people and companies make mistakes – that’s life. But it is how you handle those mistakes or mishaps that can make or break your business.
Instead of circulating my joy on all social media platforms, I instead forwarded the email to the Hannans Team to remind us that this is what we should always be striving for. If we focus on client satisfaction, especially in response to an expression of unhappiness, our own happiness and success will inevitably follow.
