How Do You Apologize to Clients?
You may not have had to deal with that call yet, but rest assured it’s probably going to happen. You pick up the phone, and you have a very unhappy client expressing their displeasure in your recent submission.
And the worst part about it – it’s your fault. You missed the deadline, your design didn’t incorporate their mandatories, or you got their phone number wrong on a DM – after they had given final approval.
Now the files have been shipped, the mails been sent, and the damage is done.
Assuming this isn’t a client-from-hell, how do you go about fixing this so you don’t become known as a freelancer-from-hell?
I’ve heard of some of the following options:
- Provide Starbucks gift card to smooth things over
- Provide a hefty discount for the current project
- Offer a heartfelt, in person, apology
- Handwritten note of apology
- Eat the cost of the project – no satisfaction, no payment expected
- Offer up your first born (my parents kept trying this, but unluckily for me, no one took them up on it!)
- Ignore it. It’s the client’s fault for not being clear enough
When it’s time to say you’re sorry, what’s worked for you in the past?
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A 10-15% discount or some free additional minor updates usually does the trick!
Try and be honest with the client. The client is also human, and if there is a real issue then he/she would understand.
These look good to me:
Provide a hefty discount for the current project
and/or
Eat the cost of the project – no satisfaction, no payment expected
Nabeel
It happened to me once! The only way out of a sticky situation was to apologize to the client. The problem was partly my fault, and I had to admit this – first to myself, and then to the client.
When I made the call, I was tempted to try and defend my position, but then I remembered the customer service skills I had acquired some years before working for a corporate firm.
I apologized and I basically asked the client: “I would like to fix this issue, how can I solve this problem for you?”. The client accepted my apology and told me what it was that would help resolve the issue, from their point of view. I listened, and then I followed through. I still have this client today.
Excellent approach. Plus, it puts the “burden” (so to speak) of deciding what is appropriate compensation on the client. The couple of times this has happened to me, I’ve found that the client’s idea of appropriate compensation is less severe than what I would have expected or accepted (for ex., a 10% discount when I would have gone 25%). Win-win as far as I’m concerned.
Anne – excellent point. There is huge value in the question “How can I solve this problem for you?”
It shows that you are professional, and willing to make it right.
thanks for sharing!
@brandscaping
Just a matter of a personal note and a resolve to right the wrong.
I agree with Anne.
There’s nothing wrong with apologizing. We’re fallible humans not robots. If a client then proceeds to tear you a new one, tell em to go F themselves and move on.
So it goes…
-dp
in my 7 years i haven’t ever had a huge falling out with a client before – but i have had tons of mis-communications in the past where i would go on to develop something that was completely off from the clients vision
the best advice i can possibly give anyone is to re-cap any meeting or phone call with a detailed email (scope) and ask for a response from the customer – then do not start anything until you get the “sounds great” email… live by this rule and you will be fine haha!
Excellent advice Michael – that should catch any scope-creep as well!
Jordan – it is that simple – but it’s amazing how few follow that rule!
DP – sometimes it’s hard to remember that we are, in fact, fallible, and stuff does happen. Not sure how many time’s i’d resort to telling them to “F themselves” – but to each their own
thank you all for commenting
@brandscaping
Thanks Jason – it is a rule I live by, but I still slip up – last month i met a client over lunch to discuss a site and got started that evening, after about 2 weeks i finished everything up and sent an invoice only to get an email saying i still had to add the shopping cart! Not once did we discuss any sort of check out, but to get the second 1/2 of my payment released I had to suck it up – i of course held back the “f – off” and explained that this came as a surprise – i told the client in a really polite way that i didn’t expect it and went way over my budgeted hours, he responded with “I’m sorry you don’t remember the conversation” – since that was in an email i had no idea what his tone was, so i just let it go (with some cold ones of course) and invoiced.
when the payment came a couple weeks later there was a note inside saying he appreciated how professional i was in handling the mis-communication and that his previous developer would have threw up the finger and not done it, so for this enjoy the extra $200 I added to your total.
i am realizing this post is longer then it needs to be, but i can now honestly say that keeping a cool head and being (not acting) a professional will at some point in your career pay off!
thanks again for the article!
Usually a discount on the project, if it’s all your fault. If the client signed off on something and there was a mistake noticed after, then it’s 50/50.
I have to admit I screwed up with this one client and took an angry tone in an e-mail, and it was my fault but he had driven me to the point of insanity. Which if I had held off for one more e-mail I would’ve been the bigger man.
In the end I ignored it and I got paid but I’m sure I lost future business.
I had a big fall out with this client due to problems with payment and sadly, I was too caught up with my hormones to realize what I was saying in my email. Though the problem wasn’t entirely my fault, I made sure to send him another email with apologies, explanations, and a lot of humility on my part.
Sadly the client didn’t accept it. So, without much to do about the situation, I moved on with a major lesson learned.
Anne pretty much has it spot on. Though it is for a large part their fault, the risk of losing your cliënt/business image is not worth the cost of a reproduction.
Be helpful, try to not even refer to their final approval and your rights, and give them the feeling that you really want to help.
Depending on how the conversation moves on you can either try to offer them a new print batch at the price it would cost you, or go a bit lower than that.
If they accept, also throw in a little token of apology, a little gift. If you’re quick at designing, make a little card with a little jab at the situation, ridiculing your own company lightly. Be creative, be personal.
Good thoughts Detleff – especially with the card.
A new print batch can be a pretty expensive solution – but in the end, you want to make sure you are helping their business, and how you fix a mistake is as important as how you do the job.
thanks for commenting
J
Personally, I’ll apologize for my mistakes. Then I’ll try to offer something to them in return. Among the things are optimizing their SEO for their website, in case they don’t purchase that.
Interesting suggestions Adian – has it worked in the past?
Make that phone call. Whether you give a discount, or eat some hours, or even if you’re going to be fired, call and let them hear the sympathy in your voice.
Very true Corey – an email can help you save face, but a phone call – or a drop in visit – really shows that you think they are more than just a paycheque.
great point – thanks for sharing.
J
Never assume that what YOU think might make it right will make it right. Apologize and say humbly, “You’re right. I blew it. What can I do to make it right for you?” (sorry about the caps. I wanted to emphasize it). Then do it.
Let them tell YOU what THEY want. Sometimes all it takes is a lot less than you think. They may be very happy to simply get a credit for the next job, or a discount. Don’t give the store away because you THINK that will help.
If you let them tell you what’s important to them they’ll be happier and you won’t feel like you’re walking on eggshells trying to give them what you or someone else thinks they want. One, they’ll feel like you’re listening to them and two, they’ll get what they need, not what you want or think you can afford to give them!
If they blow that off, then say, “Well, take a while and think about it. Maybe a discount on your next job, or _____Insert what you are prepared to gladly give____.
You’ll be surprised. If you’re honest, humble and genuinely apologetic you’ll find that they’re very reasonable. You may want to send coffee and doughnuts (if you know they love them) or a fresh fruit bouquet as PART of the apology, but really – just ask them what they want and be real and deliver.
I also had to let a client go. Fortunately, I am turning it into a lesson learned and a blog post. Hey, one has to turn lemons into lemonade.
This topic is difficult for me since I am halfway around the world and the relationship I have with clients is based on emails and Skype conversations. I have no choice but to offer more services for a lower price or to give extra hours in without charging more.
It really depends, say if the flyer has the wrong email because they sent me the wrong email I just apologize and make it clear to them it wasn’t my fault.
Although when its really my fault sometimes I tell them the rest (or all!) the payment isn’t required
i just started this job and ran in to this issue with the client, the typo was made in the fine print of the specialized carpet cleaning promotion. This was discovered by the merchant who emailed me and clearly not happy about the error. I then notified the departmemt responsible for this discrepancy and it has been corrected.
Now i need some help in sending him an apologetic formal email .. could you guys help me out with a sample email here .. greatly appreciate it