Six months ago one of my coaching clients found himself in a predicament: Ty received a phone call from his biggest customer and it wasn’t a happy one. His customer had not received their delivery and it was past due. As a result, this missed delivery date caused the company to be late with a shipment to one of their customers.
Ty checked into it right away, and found out the error was due to some communication error between two departments. They made a big mistake. Ty could have called the company and made up some excuse. Instead, he said, “We made a mistake. We are sorry. We are now making arrangements for you to receive it by air freight, and we will absorb the additional shipping charges”.
Fast forward to today. Not only is this still their biggest customer, they have purchased far more than anticipated since the error. I am quite certain this would not have happened if Ty and his company hadn’t owned up to their mistake and made it right quickly. Ty knew that the most important asset his company has is their sterling reputation, and he fought to preserve it.
What Ty did seems like common sense. It is common sense.Yet how many times have you seen a situation where there was a mix-up in a process, and a shipment has to be sent out late? Have you ever heard someone ask the question, “What should we tell them?” How about the truth? It worked for Ty
Our reputation is our brand, and it is a strong determining factor when a purchasing decision is made. Think of it like that commercial for a Nationwide Freight Carrier: “We are in the business of keeping promises”.
