Not too long back I had some miscommunication problems with a service provider.
I use the word ‘miscommunication’ rather loosely and euphemistically to be truthful. I’m trying to be positive about it.
If I was being blunt, I would say that they never listened to me. I was never heard. They attempted to make decisions on my behalf, and really, just never got to the point where they understood why I was so annoyed with them. Which leads to my second big issue in our relationship. Assumptions. In order to explain, I’ll need to digress slightly into some background on our company.
I’m an avid student of e-marketing, normal marketing, and any other kind of marketing. I devour article’s books, blogs, LinkedIn discussions and any other type of advice I can lay my hands on. This is a necessity, as a business owner, CEO and entrepreneur, I am the head of the marketing department. I have no formal training or education in marketing, so it’s really up to me and my own discipline to find out how to do things; and then make it work. Sink or swim baby. Sink or swim.
So I know all that stuff about the personal touch, how a handwritten note makes all the difference for example. Or congratulating someone with flowers when an event happens. If you’re a local or small business owner then you are perfectly positioned to know about these events, because you generally know a good portion of your clients personally, and behaving like a human being makes doing business with you a pleasant experience.
My service provider, also does these additional personal touches, and he does them well. And yet, after our ‘miscommunication’ issues, I am still left with a sour taste, and I’ve moved on to another provider. I will not be speaking fondly of the experience, or his company. Which is a pity, because when someone impresses me, I sing their praises loudly from the mountain tops; across all the channels I can find. I am a vocal, passionate referrer of everything positive.
Why have I moved on? Because apologising for something, and actually making it right are not the same thing. You cannot assume that all is well just because you have apologised.
And continuing down the same path after an apology, well, then you shouldn’t have bothered with the apology in the first place.
So, what do I mean with “No Apologies”? I mean do it right the first time, and don’t repeat your mistakes. If you have to apologise once to a client, you should be good, but when it becomes a theme with all your conversations, then you either need to fire that client, or figure out what you’re doing wrong fast.
That’s what “No Apologies” really means. It’s getting enough things right so that there’s nothing to apologise for in the first place.
