It’s just a regular day. Everything is going smoothly and you’re feeling good. You’re all smiles as you hear your phone begin to ring. It’s one of your clients. You expect to hear the typical exchange of pleasantries, but instead you sense some immediate frustration and know immediately that something’s wrong. Your client has brought to your attention a mistake or lapse in judgment, and attributes it to YOU. Worst of all, you immediately realize they’re right, and that you’ve dropped the ball. Even if it’s a minor mistake (like my own experience recently), it probably still won’t sit well with you because if you’re like me, you rarely make mistakes and always want the absolute best for your clients.
The above mentioned scenario is one of the worst feelings. Not only are you worried about the impact of the mistake itself, but also how this will impact your business relationship. You begin to think your client may be losing faith in you. The uncertainty starts to fester in your mind and the potential for a disaster seems rather imminent.
But now is the time to pump the brakes on your own pity party, and focus on doing what’s right for your client. Realize that you have a BIG opportunity staring you right in the face, and I do mean opportunity. You have the chance to show the client your true strength of character. It’s not easy, but if you follow these six steps there’s a great chance you will come out of this scenario stronger than before.
Step 1 – Be thankful and receptive
When a client first brings a complaint to you about your decisions or actions, it’s important to be receptive and immediately thank them for their candor. For most people, it’s not easy to confront someone with whom they’re working. Some people tend to shy away from confrontation altogether. It’s not a fun or comfortable position for anyone. But if the relationship is truly important to you then it’s necessary to address any source of friction or mistake as soon as possible.
You’ll often hear someone preface a complaint with an apology, for example, “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be rude but…”. The bottom line here is that it’s important to make someone feel good about bringing an issue to light. Don’t make them feel weird or guilty, because they may already feel that way and you’ll only add to those negative feelings. Don’t get on the defensive.
Step 2 – Acknowledge your mistake and apologize
Now it’s time to swallow your pride, admit your error, and apologize. Tell your client that they were completely justified in their concerns, and that you simply dropped the ball. Make an earnest apology, but don’t stand around groveling at people’s feet hoping they’ll forgive your mistake. It’s likely going to fall on deaf ears until you make things right.
Step 3 – Don’t make excuses
This is a hard one for many people, which has always saddened me somewhat. It’s become all too common for people to pass the buck and point a finger in any direction other than their own. And if they can’t find someone else to blame, they have an arsenal of excuses.
Listen, nobody wants to hear it. It’s bad enough you made a mistake and that your own client had to bring it to your attention. Don’t expect any sympathy and put added guilt or stress on your client.
Step 4 – Fix your mistake
Instead of making excuses, explain to your client that you will immediately take care of the problem. Don’t dilly-dally. Expeditiously fix your mistake no matter what it costs, because you owe that not only to your client, but to yourself as well. Make sure the client is 100% satisfied with the repair, and don’t you dare make the same mistake again!
Step 5 – Thank them for continued trust
If you follow the first 4 steps, there’s a good chance you’ve managed to salvage your business relationship. You’ve hopefully redeemed yourself and are back on the track for success. But remember, your client gave you the benefit of the doubt and trusted you to fix your mistake. It’s important to thank them for their continued trust because some people jump ship at the first sign of trouble.
Step 6 – Forgive, but don’t forget
It’s important that you forgive yourself when all is said and done, after all, we all make mistakes. If you were honest, sincere and fixed the mistake, you’ve done all you can. But don’t forget the experience and how it made you feel. The worst thing you can do is not take it as a learning experience and continue to make the same, or similar mistakes. Use it to your advantage going forward with your future clientele.
So remember, opportunity knocks everywhere, even in dark or scary places. When things are going well, everyone’s all smiles and it becomes hard to gauge someone’s true character. It’s only when crap hits the fan where you begin to see people’s true colours. Take the opportunity to show people, and yourself, your true integrity – regardless of the outcome. You can choose to be like Trump or you can choose to act like Steve Harvey. Your choice.