Sociologists say that when someone joins a long-standing community, that person is always viewed as "the newcomer," even decades later. The one exception is the person who remains awhile, goes away, and then comes back to stay. For some reason, the human psyche is designed to view this second person as "an old-timer."
As a parallel, a bad-news situation in business can actually become good news. It can be used to create a stronger bond between people, if the communication is handled correctly.
Consider: Which of the following suppliers would you be most comfortable with?
- Someone who's Web site and catalog look great, with many glowing testimonials, but with whom you have no experience
- Someone you purchased from before, with no problem, but who can be contacted only via an online form
- Someone you purchased from before, who once delayed an order due to a materials defect, but who personally phoned and/or e-mailed you immediately to notify, explain, and apologize
Assuming the problems with hypothetical supplier #3 aren't regular, I'd predict you might feel most comfortable doing business there. That personal phone call or e-mail with its confession of error actually builds trust in a way that perfection cannot, because a perfect record gives no indication of how problems will be handled when they do occur.
Of course, I'm not suggesting that you go creating problems to solve just to build trust in your business dealings. However, when a problem does arise, you can look at it as an opportunity instead of a disaster. A quick confession, followed by a confident solution, can make you part of a trusted community far more than mere perfection can.
How does this idea match up with your own experience? Do you have an example of a disaster turned into a gem? We'd love to hear about it. Click to comment below.
- Lester Smith
Photo by boo_licious
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