We all make mistakes at one time or another – even if we are sure we did everything right. Recently, I was involved in a situation where a package was sent to me that I didn’t receive. I was sure I didn’t have it, and the person that delivered it was sure that I did.
So how was the issue resolved? The person doing the delivery went through step by step to figure out where the package went. As it turns out, he delivered the package to the wrong place by accident. The person who got it didn’t pay attention and kept it. Ultimately, it was retrieved and returned to me.
At points along the way, I became concerned that the effort to resolve the situation wasn’t being taken seriously, that there was a view I had it and didn’t pay attention when I got it. The assumption was, I had made the mistake and not the folks who had delivered the package. It could have just as easily been me who made the mistake in the whole adventure. But in this case, it wasn’t.
Part of exceptional service is not casting blame, but allowing for the possibility of being wrong or making a mistake. Everyone makes mistakes at some point. Jumping to a conclusion on who is to blame isn’t helpful or productive. Figuring out why the mistake happened and making sure it doesn’t happen again does. At the end of the day, the customer will remember how the situation was handled as much as the final resolution. How do you allow for the possibility of being wrong?