> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.philsimon.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# When the Customer Experience Breaks Bad
- URL: https://www.philsimon.com/when-the-customer-experience-breaks-bad/
- Published: 2011-09-14T20:46:13.000Z
- Updated: 2025-12-30T10:59:26.000Z
- Description: Responses separate companies that get it from companies that don’t.
- Author: Phil Simon
- Tags: Technology, Trends, Breaking Bad

I have an addiction (pun intended) to the AMC show [*Breaking Bad*](https://web.archive.org/web/20111105110519/https://www.amazon.com/Breaking-Bad-Complete-Season-Blu-ray/dp/B003274QH6/ref=sr%5F1%5F1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1269944979&sr=8-1). It’s about a 50-year-old high school chemistry teacher who finds out that he has lung cancer. With a pregnant wife, a young son with cerebral palsy, and little in the way of money and time to live, he “breaks bad.” That is, he begins manufacturing [crystal meth](https://web.archive.org/web/20111105110519/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crystal%5Fmethamphetamine).

Things get *very* interesting after that.

In this post, I’ll explain how this relates to the customer experience. Also, once you’ve broken bad, the customer experience is tough to repair.

## When Salmon Breaks Bad

Well, let me tell you about a recent hotel stay of mine that broke bad–and how you can use it as an opportunity to still leave a good impression with an angry customer.

On a recent trip to Las Vegas, I stayed at a hotel. On my second night, I ordered the salmon with vegetables. It was custom-cooked and not from a buffet.

The salmon and vegetables tasted fine going down but, as I would soon discover, I was in for a world of pain. Over the next 14 hours, I became violently ill and could not keep any food down. After attempting to eat some very light cereal with Gatorade, I relapsed and needed to go to the hospital and incur medication costs. (Note to self: avoid milk next time.)

The entire experience put a wrench into my plans. Severely dehydrated, I could barely move, much less do the things in Las Vegas that I needed to do.

> Things happen, but responses separate companies that get it from companies that don’t.

To its credit, the hotel’s employees couldn’t have been nicer and more helpful. A hotel employee drove me to the hospital, picked me up, took me to a pharmacy, waited while I had my prescription filled, and then took me home. The entire staff knew about my situation and frequently asked me how I was doing. The manager comped me two nights for my trouble and apologized, even though no one else became sick from the salmon.

## Simon Says

To be sure, this wasn’t a crisis on par with [Johnson and Johnson’s handling of Tylenol in 1982](https://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/fall02/susi/tylenol.htm?ref=philsimon.com). It’s not as if hundreds of guests were keeling over in the lobby.

And that’s precisely the point.

As I mentioned on this site before, a single, social customer can do a great deal of harm and good for a business of any size. Think about ways to turn crises into opportunities. No, you can’t give a customer free hotel nights for the rest of his life. By the same token, however, a free meal is an insulting accommodation for someone who had to endure 24 hours of hell.

So, to the folks at the hotel: Thank you for doing the right thing. You have made a customer for life. More than that, you have set an example for other companies of all sizes to follow.