As a customer, when you ask a question to a venue or a vendor, the answer, “I don't know” isn't necessarily bad customer service. Sometimes the person you're speaking with genuinely doesn't know the answer. The problem begins with what happens next. “I don't know. You'll have to call someone else.” “That's another department.” “I'm not sure who handles that.” And suddenly the customer has been handed an organizational problem they didn't create. Where is the chain of command? If the person you ask is not equipped to answer you, the correct response is " I will direct you to the correct person to speak to".
Throughout my career in hospitality and events, I've learned that the person receiving a question doesn't always need to have the answer. But someone needs to own getting the answer. That might mean finding the right person, making the introduction, following up. Or simply saying, “I don't know, but I'll find out.” Customers don't care which department owns the information. They care whether anyone owns their problem. It is a small distinction. Your question should not become a victim of a business with no distincion between departments. But it's often the difference between feeling ignored and feeling valued. When a customer asks a question no one immediately knows how to answer, what happens next in your business?
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