Retaining Customers After a Run-out

Written on: March 10, 2026 by Susan Janett

Despite your best efforts, it’s likely that some of your automatic delivery customers ran out of fuel during this Winter’s extended cold stretch. How you handle these moments and the aftermath can make the difference between keeping or losing a customer. It also influences whether they bash you online or keep their experiences to themselves.

It’s important to turn these moments of “failure” into something better and address run-outs that happened recently or even several months ago.

• Most oil or propane companies are good about apologizing on the phone when something like this happens. Your company is usually able to get a delivery quickly and may have thought that was enough to put the problem to bed. However, that may not have necessarily been the end of it for the customer.
• Depending on the level of inconvenience or anxiety the customer experienced, there’s likely lingering frustration or anger. After all, when they agreed to automatic delivery, they trusted your promise that you wouldn’t let them run out of fuel, especially when it was very cold outside. You may have been making hundreds of deliveries each day without incident, but they only knew what happened to them, and it wasn’t good.
• The customer service rep who handled this may have been fantastic or they may have been stretched thin after taking dozens of calls every day for weeks. They may have handled the customer’s anger perfectly or they may have “had enough.” If your customer has a spouse, it’s likely you only engaged with only one of them. The other spouse, who might be the ultimate decision maker, never heard your apology. They just knew they spent a night freezing in their home and trying to keep the pipes from freezing, as well.

What should you do about it?
The vast majority of customers are willing to forgive a lapse like this if the response is appropriate. Beyond getting the fuel, they need to feel that your company truly owns its mistake. They need to know you are sorry for what happened, that you acknowledge the difficulty it might have caused and that their distress really matters to you.

Most of you handled the delivery part well; it was the second part that deserves attention.

Suggestions:

• Listen to how your customer service reps and fuel dispatchers speak with customers about run-outs (many firms have call-recording technology. If not, stand where the phones are answered for a while). They shouldn’t just solve the issue; the customer needs to hear them apologize and express empathy for what they’re going through. Something like, “I’m so sorry that you’ve run out. I know it’s extremely frustrating. We’ve been working round the clock, but we’re running into real challenges because of all the ice and snow on top of the cold. I’m going to talk to our delivery team to get you a delivery ASAP. Would you like to hold on while I check when we’ll be able to get to you, or would you prefer I call you back shortly with that information?” By giving them a choice, you put them in charge, which feels good to them and helps diffuse anger.

Pro Tip: If you can give the customer a time when you will call them back by, then do it. It reduces their anxiety.

• Take it a step further. Prepare a letter or email to send to the customer from one of the leaders of the company. This is the part many firms miss. It is the chance to do something unexpected that impresses the customer, takes any lingering bad taste out of their mouth and acts as insurance in case your customer service rep doesn’t handle the call well. This “second touch” demonstrates that you really do care about their experience and that you are committed to doing better. It’s harder to leave a company that does this, and it diffuses their inclination to go online and complain about your company.

When should you send it?

• It’s best to email/mail this quickly after they get the delivery, but even if that opportunity passes, that shouldn’t stop you from contacting them as soon as possible (i.e., better late than never). Many customers who are disappointed with service don’t quit in the middle of Winter; they wait until the cold is over. Therefore, you still may have time to influence them.
• Many companies offer a credit to add something more substantive behind their mea culpa. We’ve found that $50 is a solid amount and much less than the cost to replace a good, automatic customer; this is also something your CSR could offer during the initial call, as well.

If you have any questions, contact me at sjannett@warmthoughts.com. ICM

Susan Janett is Director of Customer Service & Sales Training for Warm Thoughts Communications. She has spent 15+ years in the industry, working with more than a hundred companies to improve how they impress, retain and add customers.