Small,Business,amp,#58,How,Han business, insurance Small Business Q & A: How To Handle The Occasio

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Q: My company is really in hot water with one of our best customers.I can't reveal exactly what happened, but suffice it to say thatwe really dropped the ball and the customer is furious. I'm noteven sure we can save the account. What's the best way to getback in a customer's good graces after making such a mistake?-- Charles W.A: Without knowing the full story, Charles, I can't give you aspecific course of action, but let's start at the sharp end ofthe uh-oh stick and work our way back to see if we can come withup some advice that might help.First off, it's important that you understand that the magnitudeof your mistake will determine the course of action you take tomake amends. If your company's error was such that it causedyour customer a significant amount of lost time or revenue,embarrassed them publicly, caused damage to their reputation, orotherwise negatively affected their bottom line, you may facelegal repercussions that saying "I'm sorry" will not deter. Ifthat's the case you should consult an attorney immediately andprepare for the worst. Whether or not the worst comes isirrelevant. You must be prepared for it.Now on to dealing with more minor offenses. As anyone who hasread this column for any length of time knows, I'm cursed withdaughters. I used to say I was blessed with daughters, thenthey learned to walk and talk. Blessed quickly became cursed.Now my oldest daughter is an inch taller than me and getting all lumpy in places I'd rather not think about. She's a sadcase, really. The poor kid needs an operation. She has acellphone growing out of her ear. But I digress…When she was a toddler she coined the phrase, "Oop-see!" Whenevershe did something innocently destructive, like knock over a glassof orange juice on my new computer keyboard or shove a Pop Tartin the VCR tape slot, she would look at me with her huge browneyes and say, "Oop-see!" My wife says there is a reason Godmade kids cute. Oop-see moments are evidence that she is right.Oop-see meant, "Uh oh, I didn't mean to do that. I was wrong.I'll never do that again. Forgive me? Love me? Buy me toys… Oop-see worked like a charm every time. Now, I certainly don'texpect you to bat your eyes at your customer and say, "Oop-see!"but consider the effect her words had on me. Instead of screamingat the top of my lungs like I wanted to do (hey, have you evertried to dig a Pop Tart out of a VCR) I immediately softened andfound myself actually taking her side. "Aw, it's OK, really, weall make mistakes…"What my daughter had figured out is that it's hard to stay mad atsomeone who admits a mistake, sincerely apologizes for it, andvows never to let it happen again. Little did I know this wasonly one of many tactics she would employ over the years in hernever-ending quest to wrap her daddy several times around herlittle finger, but that's a whole different column.Dale Carnegie said it best: "Any fool can try to defend his orher mistakes - and most fools do - but it raises one above theherd and gives one a feeling of nobility and exultation to admitone's mistakes." Carnegie and my daughter were basically saying the same thing:When you (or your company) make a mistake, no matter how largeor small, the best thing you can do is quickly admit the errorof your ways and face the consequences, come what may.Here are a few things you can do to help set things right withyour customer. Assemble the facts. The very first thing you should do is findout what went wrong and why. Meet with your key people andgather the facts. Ask specific questions like: What was themistake? What caused it? Who was involved? What could havebeen done to prevent the mistake from happening and what can bedone to prevent it from happening again in the future. Put yourself in your customer's shoes. I've been on both endsof the uh-oh stick and neither is very comfortable. My companyhas dropped the ball on occasion and we have also been negativelyimpacted when one of our vendors did the same. Put yourselfin your customer's shoes and consider what could be said or doneto remedy the situation from their point of view.Take responsibility for the actions of your company. In my roleas a company president there have been times when I've had tocall up a customer and confess that a mistake was made, and aspresident it was also my responsibility to take the heat for it.Remember, you're the head cheese, Charles, you get to sit behindthe big desk and take home the nice paycheck. You're also theone that gets to mop up when your employees makes a mess. Itjust goes with the job.Do not place the blame on specific employees. No matter howtempting it is to put the blame on specific people in yourorganization (even if that's where the blame lies), do not doit. It is unprofessional, counterproductive and can backfire on you, especially if the person you're blaming reports directlyto you. Saying something like "My sales manager is alwaysmaking mistakes like this!" is not going to make your customerfeel any better. To the contrary, such statements will make thecustomer question your leadership ability and the quality of allyour employees, not just the one that made the mistake. If youdon't have faith in your company and employees, why should yourcustomer?Don't deny that a mistake was made, especially when there isclear evidence to the contrary. You're not Richard Nixon, for petesake, so don't try to pretend that the mistake didn'thappen or stage some elaborate cover-up to try and dodge theblame. Admit your mistake. This may sounds trite, but you must admityour mistake before you can move ahead and start to make amends.Don't be so afraid to take this step. I doubt your company isthe first one to screw up with this customer and I can guaranteeyou certainly won't be the last. Apologize for the mistake. The one thing that could make thesituation better is often the thing that companies find hardestto do. I don't mean to sound like Dr. Phil, but simply sayingyou're sorry is often the best way to get a business relationshipback on track. Ensure the customer that it will never happen again. After youhave taken responsibility for the mistake and apologized in asincere and professional manner, you must then start the processof rebuilding the trust that was lost. Promising that such amistake will not happen again is a good way to start. Compensate the customer for his loss. Even if your mistakedidn't cost the customer a dime, he will appreciate an offerof compensation. This can be something as simple as a lunchon you or a discount on his next order. The size of the compensation offered should be in direct proportion to the sizeof your mistake. A word of warning: don't let the customerbully you into overcompensating him for your mistake. Thatcan be more detrimental to the relationship than the mistakeitself.As my daughter understood all those years ago, Charles, asincere Oop-see can help make things all better.Here's to your success!Tim [email protected] For information on starting your own online or eBay business,visit http://www.dropshipwholesale.net