On Monday I wrote a post advising those in business to under promise and over deliver. I addressed the perils and consequences that lie ahead for those who fail to do so.
Beverly Called Today
When I completed Monday’s blog I was still waiting to hear back from Beverly. She called today and reinforced what I already knew. Most missteps in business and in life can be corrected.
Beverly explained that the error I phoned her about two weeks ago was in fact that of the merchant’s. They would reimburse me the $560 that I was out because of it. Consequently, although Beverly broke the #1 “cardinal rule” of business by setting expectations that in hindsight were unrealistic, she is back in my good graces. I now hold her in much higher esteem than just yesterday as she came up with a solution that was more than satisfactory to me.
Compounding Mistakes
There’s a great lesson here. We all have lapses in service from time to time. When that happens we only serve to compound the problem if we become defensive or try to justify our mistake.
The following is the most prudent course to take when you are confronted by unhappy clients due to service that was less than stellar:
- Repeat the clients concern back to them so they know that you’ve heard them.
- Question if that particular concern is the only one that they have.
- Assure them that you will work on coming up with a solution.
- Be prompt. Be creative. Be flexible.
- Determine a resolution that you could live with and will exceed their expectations.
You’ll likely reaffirm their initial good feelings about you and create a customer for life.
Have you ever had to win back the confidence of a client? How did you effectively do that? Please let us know in the comment section below.
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