The company's saving grace

In a commentary, Ms Neeta Lachmandas, Executive Director, SMU Institute of Service Excellence opined that service recovery is a necessary part of keeping a brand’s reputation and should be made an integral part of staff training. Companies should prepare for service failures and make plans in advance to ensure staff are equipped to help turn the situation around. Employers should also pre-define a plan for staff, monitor all feedback channels, communicate with empathy as well as support their frontline staff by providing them avenues to talk about difficult customer interactions and strategies to de-stress.