There’s one certain in both life and businesses—mistakes will happen. But it’s how we handle those mistakes that can make all the difference—especially when it comes to customer experience.

As the manager of brand and guest relations for the West Coast sandwich franchise, Togo’s, Simona Krebs has four important steps that she follows when vetting a customer issue. The first step, she says, is acknowledging the problem—whether it’s in person, online or over the phone, it’s imperative that someone responds.

“Eighty-percent of life is showing up,” Krebs told Forbes. “There is so much data out there these days—direct guest feedback, review sites and social media sites. You must review all and respond to it all, if possible.”

According to Krebs, the second step is to apologize. Then, it’s important to ask for more information to clarify the issue. Third, it’s important to find a resolution. And lastly, it’s crucial to close the loop. This involves identifying patterns and working towards educating staff members to limit or prevent future issues.

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Nick Powills

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Nick Powills

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Nick Powills, CFE, founded No Limit Agency in 2008 and serves as Chief Brand Strategist for the Chicago-based firm. No Limit is a full-service communications agency that establishes and elevates brands by bridging Public Relations, Social Media, Marketing, Advertising, Digital, and a lot of creativity, to best strategize well-rounded and successful campaigns for 50+ global franchise brands. By presenting visionary ideas and building real relationships, No Limit is able to create effective media branding strategies to help companies grow. Nick currently leads a staff of writers, media strategists, designers, social media experts and digital producers in an office think-tank where brands are humanized for strong, compelling media stories. Prior to starting No Limit at the age of 27, Nick spent four years working at a franchise PR agency where he mastered the art of building rapport with media outlets and creating newsworthy pitches for earned media placements. He holds a Bachelor of Journalism from Drake University in Iowa.