We all screw up. I have. You have. And we’ll do it again…and again…and again. It happens.
What we do with a screw up, however, determines whether or not we walk alone moving forward.
I’m a big fan of MyEmma email marketing. Truth be told, I’m a big fan of them all the way around, having rarely found a company with such high standards for customer service. Well, on Monday, they bobbled…and they bobbled massively.
And, given the way they handled it, I’m an even bigger fan today.
Here’s an email sent to thousands of MyEmma newsletter recipients Monday night:
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This was a technical glitch. Computer. Code. Something other than a human hand at a switchboard accidentally connecting Mrs. Anderson’s party line to Mr. Johnson’s private line. But did they blame a computer? A coder? Nope. They took this on the chin, no waffling.
MyEmma’s willingness to make an open, naked apology to a much broader audience than just the folks who received an errant email newsletter proves a determination to do The Right Thing. The six most important words in the entire message are stark and simple:
“The fault here is all Emma’s….”
Their glitch, their mistake. Their patoot on the line.
And, as if a soul baring apology wasn’t enough, they went three steps further for the client involved (as noted on her Facebook page the next day):
Sure, they could have added that to their e-blast as an example of magnanimous apology, but chose not to. This wasn’t about them. It was about the customer, and making sure no one blamed the wrong person.
And as a result, I trust MyEmma more than ever.
Trust is earned by good deeds, but it’s forged in steel if something goes wrong and you take responsibility. Next time you’re tempted to blame a computer, blame the mail service, blame the delivery company, blame the vendor/rep/retailer, or blame whoever happens to be standing within arm’s reach, ask yourself one straightforward question:
Is there anything I could have done to make this better?
If the answer is yes, then get cracking. It’s your turn to shine in the Trustworthy Olympics.
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