Free guest recovery offer optimiser What should you offer an unhappy guest?

Turn the guest’s spend, the seriousness of the problem and the value of keeping the relationship into a recovery offer that makes commercial sense — then issue it properly with Stars.

01 Offer range 02 Best offer type 03 Expiry 04 Response timing 05 Commercial impact

Build the recovery around what is actually at stake.

A £5 voucher and a 50% discount are not interchangeable. The right recovery depends on the issue, the guest value and your economics.

What happened?

Choose the closest fit.

Long wait / slow serviceThe experience disappointed, but the core product may still have been fine.

Food / product qualityThe main thing they paid for did not meet expectations.

Wrong / missing orderThe guest did not receive what they expected or paid for.

Staff / service issueThe interaction itself damaged trust in the business.

Billing / payment problemMoney or charging created friction or loss of confidence.

Something elseUse severity and economics to guide the recovery level.

How serious was it?

The recovery should reflect the actual failure.

SeverityModerate

1 = minor inconvenience · 2 = moderate failure · 3 = serious failure · 4 = severe / trust-damaging failure

What is the relationship worth?

This is what stops the recovery offer being arbitrary.

Guest spend on this visit

Total guest / table / booking spend.

Expected future visits in 12 months How often they might reasonably return if you keep them.

Approx. gross margin

Used to keep the recommendation commercially grounded.

Chance they return without recovery

Your judgement of the relationship after this experience.

How strongly do you want to recover them?

Choose the commercial posture.

Recovery approach The recommendation stays within a relationship-value ceiling either way.

This is guidance, not a promise of conversion.The tool gives a commercially sensible range from the inputs you provide. You know the guest and the circumstances; use judgement before sending any offer.

Recommended recovery plan

Make it worth coming back.

A controlled offer that recognises the failure without giving away more than the relationship is worth.

Fixed-value voucher

£10≈ 24% of visit

Suggested range: £8–£13

How to use it

Commercial context

12-month relationship revenue£0

Estimated gross profit in future visits£0

Offer face value£0

Offer as % of future relationship revenue0%

Potential revenue preserved if they return£0

Suggested recovery wording

Keep the apology human. Make the offer specific. Thank the guest for telling you, acknowledge what went wrong, explain that you want the chance to put it right, then give the recovery offer with a clear expiry.

★ Turn this recommendation into a real Stars recovery offer

Stars turns the recommendation into a controlled recovery workflow instead of an open-ended promise.

IssueUnique one-time code

ExpireRequired expiry date

ProveIssued → redeemed → recovered

Create recovery offers with Stars → Start your 14-day free trial. No need to keep tracking vouchers manually.

Why the offer matters

Recovery is not about giving money away.

The commercial question is whether a sensible recovery investment can preserve a relationship worth more than the offer itself — while showing the guest you actually took the experience seriously.

A strong recovery offer is specific, controlled, time-limited and measurable.

Match the failure

A minor delay does not need the same response as a serious service or quality failure.

Think beyond today’s bill

The guest’s future visits can be worth far more than the cost of one sensible recovery offer.

Put a boundary around generosity

One-time codes and expiry dates prevent the recovery from becoming an uncontrolled discount.

Measure whether it worked

With Stars, redemption tells you the guest actually returned — not merely that somebody sent an apology.

Know what to offer. Then control it properly.

Stars gives every recovery offer a unique code, required expiry and redemption status — so your team can recover the guest without creating an open-ended discount.

Start 14-day free trial →