Everyone makes mistakes. If you are in a business serving people or working with people, at some time you are going to make a mistake.
Man up! Own up! As soon as you see the mistake or realize there has been a misunderstanding, get it straightened out. Correct it if you can, pay for it if you can’t, apologize, tell your story without making excuses. Then move on.
I have broken the frame on a mirror, misfiled a set of papers, misspelled a label (OK, more than once there), put an item where a client couldn’t find it. As soon as the mistake was noticed either by me (the mirror was obvious) or the client (where did you put it?) the situation was straightened out. I don’t feel I have ever lost a client because of this.
Vendors working for me have hung a cabinet upside down, poked a hole and put in a faucet in a location different from where I wanted it, broken items in my home. It was always straightened out because communication happened and all was made clear and whenever possible, mistakes were fixed. I have always had that vendor back because I like their work and I trust them.
We want to be remembered as someone who makes good if mistakes happen. None of us want to be remembered as the captain who abandoned the cruise liner Costa Concordia.
Jonda S. Beattie Professional Organizer
Commentaires