How to Efficiently Manage Incidents with Customers

You walk into the Administration office.

"Where are we at," you ask your team.

Last night's event was massive.

The size of the event was more than your staff is used to managing.

The number of issues and incidents captured was overwhelming by your operational standards.

Today your team is inundated because of all the files to review.

"Incident #1023 is missing," one of your operation coordinators shouts as you walk by their cubicle.

You pick up your pace, walk into your office, and shut the door.

It's only 9 AM, and you're already anxious about today's call with your General Manager.

After telling yourself that everyone will have to spend today sorting through the files, you run out the door to gather your team and share the game plan.

"Hey team, stop what you're doing for a moment and let's get a strategy together for getting through this day," you yell across the office.

Immediate silence takes over because they've been waiting for you to propose a solution.

Everyone in the office turns with a distressed look on their faces.

You find out why quickly.

The phones are ringing off the hook.

"What's going on?" you ask your operations manager, Brian.

"Customers from last night, especially VIPs, are calling to discuss the brawl that 'ruined their night' on the suite floor," he responds.

"Customers want to review and discuss the incidents from last night, but everything is so disorganized we just can't provide the information they request."

Now, you're panicking.

You need a solution, or you'll lose your customers.

How would you handle this at your property?

Can you effectively communicate information about incidents with your customers when they call to discuss?

Keep reading; we have a simple yet powerful fix for your documentation needs.

You'll learn about the robust documentation capabilities of a world-leading incident management system, and how to review and discuss incidents with customers efficiently.

Are you ready?

All-Inclusive Documentation Is Fundamental for Customer Retention

We often discuss the importance of customer experience and satisfaction.

But, there's another critical extension of customer service we rarely cover.

It's customer retention.

Your ability to keep customers coming back is critical to your organization's longevity.

Agree?

Providing positive customer experience and satisfaction is undeniable.

But, many operations forget that keeping your customers coming back entails the proactive measures you take after each day.

Consider this: a customer contacts you about an incident the day after it happened.

They were involved in a minor car accident in the parking lot.

Your team arrived on the scene to capture witness statements, but the rain ruined the incident details on the notepad used to document the incident.

Both parties involved saw someone recording information.

But, when they call you, you have nothing to share with them.

How does your operation look?

Most customers will begin questioning your ability to keep them safe.

You cannot even effectively log a minor fender bender.

What if this was a severe incident?

What if someone attacked them?

They'll no longer be frequenting your property.

This scenario calls for the requirement of comprehensive documentation.

You must be able to discuss incidents with customers – efficiently.

Whether they show up at your property or call in the following morning, it's the only way to keep them happy, confident in your ability to provide a positive experience and have them coming back to your property again and again.

Utilize an Incident Management System to Review Incidents Anytime

Documenting an incident sounds easy.

We'd agree, except our introduction scenario proves differently.

Here's why: operations overlook three significant aspects that lead to incomplete and inaccurate documentation and the inability to review it later.

Do you know what these aspects are?

1. Ease of information entry
2. Digital incident forms format
3. "Paper" trail

Let's take a more in-depth look at each of them.

You'll see how they tie together.

It's crucial to collect vital data from start to finish – this is where many operations mess up.

This problem is the result of antiquated systems and processes.

Proactive operations know that you must get every detail and can review it later.

This process also needs to be easy.

Ease of information entry

The start of your documentation is where most things get missed.

Details slip through the cracks because you're spending time writing information on a notepad or capturing it in a cumbersome system.

To ensure that incident details are being efficiently captured, you need an incident management system.

No matter where your personnel or departments are, they can capture details.

The game-changer for incident documentation is the ease of entry, or as we call it here at 24/7 Software – "speed of entry."

An incident short form lets you enter the need-to-know information in seconds.

Save time.

Lose the headaches.

This information establishes the incident, so you can manage it efficiently now, and complete it for review with your customers later.

Digital incident forms format

Your digital form determines your fate.

From medical to administration, you have a lot of forms with numerous required fields.

This example doesn't even involve the possible government organizations that need specific details.

Creating comprehensive – and custom – forms lets you capture specific details for all your incidents.

This functionality is what sets your incident management software apart from the others.

Your forms are what you rely on to review the comprehensive details with your customers.

You can have a clear and purposeful discussion with your customers about their incident, whether it's tomorrow or two years from now.

"Paper" trail

Digital documentation gives you flexibility.

It also provides you with a lot of information to be used for efficient management.

An incident management system aligns all information associated with an incident.

You can review an incident a day or months later and still obtain every piece of vital information.

It'll include the details of the incident, any changes made, who made the changes, any linked incidents that were associated, and any included documents or attachments.

Whether you uploaded an external form or attached pictures and videos – it's all available.

An incident review could prevent a lawsuit because the customer knows your documentation is complete and accurate.

There's no better way to win a lawsuit than to avoid it altogether.

Over to You

When your customers call to review incidents, are you confident enough in your documentation to discuss the incident?

Using an incident management system to capture comprehensive details lets you lead a purposeful discussion with your customers. That discussion ensures a positive outcome for you and your customer.

So, are you going to deploy an incident management system to keep your customers coming back?

Editor's note: This post was originally published in July 2016 and has been updated for comprehensiveness and freshness.