Imagine you are enjoying dinner at a high-end restaurant, almost finished with the appetizer, when you notice a long strand of hair mixed into the food. What would you expect the restaurant to do?

Well, this really happened.

In this solo episode of Doing CX Right, host Stacy Sherman shares that experience, plus a second restaurant mistake that led to a very different outcome. Both businesses had a chance to recover, but only one response made her feel taken care of and more willing to forgive.

Stacy explains why the moments after a service issue can matter more than the issue itself, and why correcting the problem is not the same as making it right. She also connects both stories to Qualtrics XM Institute research, featured in episode 210 with Isabelle Zdatny, showing how customer emotion influences forgiveness, trust, recommendations, and loyalty.

This episode helps leaders rethink service recovery as a customer retention strategy, not a simple correction.

What You Will Learn

• Why correcting a mistake and making it right are two different actions.

• What Qualtrics research reveals about the business impact of emotion when an experience does not go as expected.

• Why the memory customers carry from a difficult moment can influence whether they return or choose a competitor.

• What generous recovery looks like in practice, and why one small gesture can influence the customer's next decision.

• How one phrase can shift the conversation from care to blame.

• How to assess whether employees are equipped to protect loyalty during difficult customer moments.

Have a question or thoughts to share? Leave a voice message: https://www.speakpipe.com/StacySherman

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