EduTrendsOnline

by Charles W. Bindig, Ed.D.

As a former principal I always viewed irate parents as an opportunity rather than a nuisance. I discovered early on in my career if I was able to turn around the irate parent, they became more than satisfied with the school. A little known paradox occurs with a service failure which presents a unique opportunity to not only diffuse a disgruntled client, but provide an opening to improve client satisfaction beyond normal satisfaction with a service or product.Have you ever experienced a problem with an irate parent, who you have successfully defused, and later found had become a huge cheerleader for your school or organization? If so, this is the service recovery paradox acting in your area of practice. I believe that most schools and universities view negative press or service failures as business as usual, and that this type of disgruntled customer comes with the territory. However, if schools and universities make service recovery a guiding principle they will erase the feared low retention rate as a variable. Charter schools understand this paradox and address service failures immediately.

Dr. Bindig is a full time manager of educational outreach for American Public University System and an instructor for the School of Education. He holds an undergraduate degree from The College of New Jersey and a masters degree in Musicology from Rutgers University. Dr. Bindig received an Ed.D. from Nova Southeastern University with a dual concentration in Educational Leadership and Instructional Technology. He has 32 years of experience as a public school teacher, principal and superintendent in the New Jersey public schools. Dr. Bindig has taught for several online universities as well as serving as a dissertation advisor at Nova Southeastern University. His main focus in educational research is student achievement gains facilitated via technology.

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