Yep I made a mistake – not an earth-shattering one but one with potential consequences for my business reputation. I have always said when commenting on other businesses mistakes “I understand that mistakes happen, but it’s how they dealt with it that really matters”. And now i’ve had to put my philosophy in to practice!
So, yes I made a mistake but to compensate for it, I:
- dealt with the situation immediately (no time for the client to get more annoyed at the situation and/or my lack of response)
- gave the client a complete refund
- offered the client additional compensation (not monetary, but still worth a lot in kind)
- assured them that this was a one-off incident (it was!!)
- documented our conversation in an email so there was no mis-communication
So have my actions improved the situation? Well, at the very least, the situation has not been worsened. And in my conversation with the client, they appeared satisfied with my offers and seemed to be genuine in their thanks. There is still always the risk of negative word of mouth being generated, but hopefully that will be balanced with “…but the way she dealt with it was fantastic”!!
Have you had similar situations? How did you deal with them? What results did you get? Do you agree with my “it’s how you deal with it” belief?
Well done Michelle – if only more people would treat mistakes that way!
There are eating places I won’t return to because of mistakes. But one place served my meal late and cold, an dthe waitress didn’t care. However, when I complained to another waitress, she got the manager who refunded my meal, gave me a free drink and cared about my night. Thus, I have returned there and told others about their customer focus under pressure. So I doubt your customer will give you purely bad feedback.
[...] through the Shel Design blog, she has a post about dealing with mistakes. Michelle has some excellent tips on how to deal with a mistake. She took responsibility for it, [...]