Service recovery is when a service failure has occurred and the problem has been corrected to the customer’s satisfaction.

Great companies understand that effective service recovery satisfies an upset client and creates a greater sense of loyalty.

Our search for best practices in service recovery led us to Disney’s training arm, The Disney Institute, which has implemented a standardized approach. Bruce Jones, senior program manager for the Disney Institute says, “Customers will care as much or more about how they are treated as the outcome itself.”

For that reason, Disney created an acronym, HEARD, to remind team members how to respond when things go wrong.

Hear: Let the customers tell their complete, uninterrupted stories.

Empathize: Connect with your customers by letting them know that you understand their frustrations.

Apologize: Sometimes that’s all a customer wants. If the situation isn’t your fault, it’s OK to apologize for the situation without accepting blame.

Resolve: Work with your client to come up with an equitable solution to the problem. If the problem is serious, some atonement, such as a refund or future discount, may be necessary.

Diagnose: Once the service failure has been resolved effectively, work with your team to determine the root cause and build a plan to avoid repeating the same mistakes.

Train and practice the HEARD approach to turn upset clients into raving fans.