In theory, poor customer experience is something every brand strives to avoid. In practice, it is inevitable. Systems fail, information arrives late, people make mistakes. What truly differentiates an average brand from a strong one is not the absence of problems, but the way prevention is designed and how the organization responds when something goes wrong.
This is not an article about innovation, “wow effects,” or impeccable service. It is a story about a very ordinary fuel purchase, on a Friday evening around 8:30 p.m., at a NIS petrol station in Belgrade. More precisely, it is an analysis of how a potentially very poor experience can result in a stronger relationship between a customer and a brand than existed before the incident.
The Incident as a Starting Point (Not the End)
I attempt to pay using IPS. The transaction is declined. I try again. Declined once more. The employee, calm and professional, directs me to an ATM across the street a solution I accept, as I have previously experienced IPS payments failing.
I pay in cash, take the fiscal receipt, and leave the station. Everything seems resolved. However, a few minutes later I receive a bank notification: the funds have been deducted after all. The transaction has been charged twice.
This is where the most interesting part of the customer journey begins.
The natural reaction of any customer in such a situation is to try to resolve the issue independently. I open the NIS mobile app there is no option to submit a complaint. Only an 0800 hotline and a general email address. I visit the website, same story.
I call the 0800 number. An automated system answers. After two iterations, I’m offered the option to leave a voicemail. I do so, admittedly with limited confidence. A familiar thought crosses my mind: “Will anyone ever listen to this?”
As I was waiting for my daughter and was not under time pressure, I decided to send an email to the general contact address as well simply to complete my “homework.”
One minute later, a call from a 021 number. I knew exactly who it was.
Where Procedure Meets the Human Element
A polite, calm voice greets me. She explains that she listened to my voicemail, walks me through the procedure, and asks me to send the fiscal receipt by email—dictating the same general address I had just used.
I tell her I already sent it a minute ago. She checks immediately, confirms that everything has been received, and assures me the case will be reviewed and that I will be informed.
On Monday, I receive an email stating that the case is under review.
On Tuesday, the money is returned to my account.
Why This Matters (and Why It’s Not Accidental)
For more than ten years, we have been measuring and improving customer experience. We work with large systems, complex organizations, and dozens of procedures designed to anticipate every possible scenario.
And we always arrive at the same challenge: how to find the right balance between formal procedures and the real, day‑to‑day ability of employees to understand them, remember them, and apply them in real life.
That balance is invaluable.
It works best when procedures are not perceived as restrictive instructions, but as a framework that naturally aligns with the instinct of a well‑prepared employee.
In this case, the procedure clearly existed:
- someone genuinely listened to the voicemail,
- someone had the authority to react quickly,
- someone understood the context and the importance of resolving the issue without adding further frustration for the customer.
Equally important, however, was the human factor: tone of voice, speed of response, and the willingness to take ownership of the problem as a personal responsibility rather than treating it as just another ticket in the system.
From a Problem to an Ambassador
I am not writing this because a mistake was made.
I am writing it because the mistake was handled properly.
In practice, outcomes like this often carry far greater value than a “perfect” transaction with no friction at all—because the customer no longer believes marketing messages, but their own experience.
And that is the moment when genuine, unpaid brand ambassadors are created.