The Overlooked Value of an Sincere Apology

As a small business owner, I’ve very sympathetic to the many challenges of running a business. And I’m even more sympathetic to those in the B2C space, who have to try and keep “the masses” happy.

So when I encounter poor service or a rude salesperson, I’m apt to let things go.

But not always.

Recently, at one of my local shops, I had a bad customer service experience. To the point where, when I left the shop, I was fuming. This was a store I had frequented many times over the years and had always received excellent service. Which made the whole situation even more maddening.

Rather than deal with the situation in store (I didn’t trust myself to speak), I sat down when I got home and emailed the owner.

In the email, I recounted what happened clearly and calmly. I gave my perspective. And I sent it.

By the end of the day, I hadn’t received a reply.

But then my phone rang.

It was the store owner. Turns out, it was the owner with whom I had the bad encounter. And she was calling me to apologize.

Now that takes guts.

She apologized and explained the situation from her perspective. I accepted her apology immediately, and acknowledged that clearly we had had some kind of disconnect.

By the time I hung up the phone, I had more respect for that owner and more loyalty to that store than ever before.

As professionals, sometimes we screw up. I certainly have. And when we do, it’s better to take our lumps, own the situation, apologize and do our best to correct it.

As they say in PR, the best thing you can do in a crisis is acknowledge your error early, admit to the full scope of it, apologize without reservation and take steps to correct it.

As a small business owner, it’s a lesson I’ve learned. And one I truly appreciate when it’s practiced by others.