June 12, 2025

3 Steps to Turn Loyalty Issues into Relationship Wins

by Mindy Shouse

It’s inevitable. Every loyalty program will have its occasional hiccup—a missing reward, a promotion that didn’t apply, or a customer who’s frustrated and unsure about exactly what went wrong.

In those moments, you’re not just solving a problem. You’re building a relationship.

At PDI, we believe that the way you handle loyalty issues is just as important as how you structure your loyalty program. In fact, those moments of friction are often the biggest opportunities to win deeper loyalty when your team is empowered, trained, and equipped with the right tools.

Here are three key steps you can take to turn loyalty issues into relationship wins.

1. Turn problems into opportunities

When mistakes happen, resolution moments become the hidden turning points in the customer experience.

One study by PwC found that 32% of customers will walk away from a brand after just one bad experience—but 86% of customers say they’re more loyal to brands that offer great customer support. The difference? It’s not the mistake. It’s the response.

People will forget what you said. People will forget what you did. But people will never forget how you made them feel.

― Maya Angelou

When your frontline employees—whether store associates or support agents—have the tools, knowledge, and authority to resolve issues quickly and with empathy, they can turn what could be a churn risk into a loyalty moment.

Even though managing customer issues can be stressful, there’s a silver lining. Feedback from customers is a gift. Great operators use it to identify trends or recurring problems, and they adapt with strategies to improve the ongoing customer experience. Be sure to communicate regularly with your employees and customers to acknowledge that you’re listening and responding.

2. Empower your staff to act like loyalty leaders

In the PDI Loyalty Playbook, we explain how to create a culture of loyalty where your entire organization understands that loyalty is more than a program. It’s a mindset and one of your most valuable business assets.

That means:

Training store employees to confidently handle loyalty questions, card issues, and reward redemptions
Giving customer service agents visibility into purchase history, points balances, and offer activity
Equipping managers with dashboards that flag recurring issues or trends across locations
Rewarding employees for “saving” loyalty moments or delivering exceptional customer service
Empowering your team to go “above and beyond” by not just fixing a problem but also compensating customers for their trouble, encouraging them to give your brand another chance

With this approach, every customer-facing role becomes a brand ambassador—with the power to turn a simple resolution into a memorable positive experience.

3. Anticipate issues before they escalate

What’s the best way to solve problems? Prevent them from happening in the first place. With PDI Loyalty, your team has access to:

Real-time data to validate redemptions and points
Promotion timelines synced across the POS and the pump
Member history to spot fraud, disputes, or trends
Intuitive campaign tools to reduce setup errors

And, with integrated support features in PDI Experience Designer, your team can send “make-good” offers or apology perks instantly—turning any misstep into a positive memory.

Real-world example: Starbucks as the gold standard

The Starbucks loyalty program is a well-known benchmark, not just for its mobile-first design but for its world-class member support.

If a customer reports a missed star or reward, they often receive a personalized message and compensation within hours. The brand’s support team is trained to reinforce the value of the program and the relationship. The result?

Over 31 million active US loyalty members
An average 15% higher spend by loyalty members compared to non-members
Over 50% of in-store transactions driven by rewards members

That’s the power of building and maintaining a brand-wide loyalty culture.

PDI perspective: loyalty is a people strategy

Like most things today, technology is critical for a successful loyalty program. But it’s your people who make loyalty real.

That’s why PDI doesn’t just provide platforms. We provide partnerships. We coach our clients on how to build scalable support processes, train frontline teams, and use every loyalty issue as a chance to drive retention.

From loyalty troubleshooting guides to store-level dashboards and CPG-funded goodwill offers, we give you the tools to win the moments that matter.

Final thought

Imagine a customer calling you because they didn’t get their points. They leave the call not just satisfied—but more loyal than before. That’s the goal.

In loyalty, problems are not necessarily disruptions—they’re invitations to show up. To fix it fast. And to prove why your brand is worth coming back to.

Ready to build a loyalty culture that turns every challenge into a customer win?

Let’s Talk