I attended a local Tucson business meeting this week and the education topic was “what do you do when things go wrong?” This Biz Tip article shares some of the key points we discussed.
No matter how hard we try, none of us are perfect. We will inevitably drop the ball and something will go wrong. When that happens, it is important to take responsibility and own the problem. Depending on your business and the severity of the mistake, you may want to review your errors and omissions insurance policy and discuss it with your attorney before proceeding.
The first thing to do is assess the problem and determine how it happened. Spend some time developing a solution so it will not happen again. Explain to all of the affected parties what happened and how it happened. Explain to them the solution to prevent it from happening again. Ask what you can do to make the situation right from their perspective. Listen carefully to what they say and try to implement their suggestions.
If the client was referred to you by a third party, it is important the referral source learns about the problem from you, and not from the client. The tendency is to avoid uncomfortable conversations, but you need to address this one head on. Explain what happened and what you are doing to remedy the situation.
If you hear negative service feedback from a third party about someone you know, share the information with them. There is a good chance they do not even know about the problem. If you were in their shoes, wouldn’t you want to know?
When someone approaches you about an issue, resist the temptation to defend yourself. Assume a humble disposition and recognize this as an opportunity to learn and to develop. Without humility, it is impossible to learn.
