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You Screwed Up - Now What?

Written by: Jacqueline Drew

Article Overview: All businesses make blunders. Here's a solid, step by step methodology to getting you back in your customers' good books.

You Screwed Up - Now What?

Handling Mistakes the Right Way
By Jacqueline Drew, B.Comm
President, START Marketing Inc.
www.startmarketing.com


It doesn’t matter what business you’re in, you’re going to make mistakes… sometimes enormous ones! But it’s really how you handle those mistakes that matters to the customer. This comes down to three basic concepts: 1) Finding your own errors and admitting them, 2) Identifying options, and 3) Addressing the customer for maximum communication. Here’s what I mean.

First, even though it might be your instinct to notice the customer’s fault in a situation, resist the urge to point it out until you first identify your own errors. If you can list down all your errors, you’ll realize that admitting to these readily will take your tone from angry to conciliatory, and you’ll be in a position to start thinking about the next step, finding options.

The next step is to think about how you can rectify the situation, thinking of some options which might appeal to your customer. A common error many businesses make is that they won’t give money back, but only replace a product – when really they should give the customer the choice of cash or replacement product, or something more. But if you realize that your customer’s time has been wasted– and give some sort of gift or credit to account for that too, then you will truly stand out as caring about the customer’s time. This also gives the impression that you have taken full responsibility for your mistakes. In other words, don’t just refund or replace, do one step better.

Finally, address the customer. Be sure to use the most personal way possible to address the customer– face-to-face is by far the best. This ensures you can look in the customer’s eyes and know whether you’ve been forgiven. Telephone is second best, since you at least have a tone of voice to interpret. If at all possible, avoid e-mail when addressing problems, as it is simply too easy to misunderstand the tone of the words, and you’re just as liable to offend the customer. Once again, remember to point out your own faults, not the customer’s, and address what you’ll be willing to do for him or her, giving the options you’ve planned. The customer will generally take responsibility for their own part in the situation, and in some cases ask for less than you’ve offered. It is always wise to offer too much, rather than not enough.

Remember, you can’t always be perfect, and errors happen to the best of us. But if you handle your mistakes well, they can truly become great moments to bond with your customers, increasing the trust they have in both you and your business.

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