When you cannot fulfill a commitment

Bad news is bad news. But when there is some bad news, we'd better not sit back, and wait for the problem to be solved on its own. Specially in the business.
If you can’t deliver on time, don’t wait for the customer to call you angrily, and then you decide what you can do. This way, if the customer can afford, he will cancel the order or at least, he will not do business with you anymore, not to mention he will bad mouth you.



Take the initiative
Don’t sit on the problem. The problem is there and the customer will come to know about it. Don’t wait to exceed the deadline and to receive the call from the anxious customer. Pick up the phone and make the call and tell him that you hate giving good people bad news.

Be Honest
Ok, the worst thing has happened, but never lie to your customer. If the shipment has not arrived don’t say that all shipments from Europe have been delayed, because your customer will come to know you are lying and it will push him to the top.

Put the customer in control
People like to be in control of thing belong to them. When you ship a good to a customer, the good really belongs to him, and he has paid for it. So he is the best person to take corrective action. When in the day of trouble, pick up the phone, and immediately inform customer about the problem and work with him to find a solution.

Take responsibility
In every transaction there is one entity who pays money and another entity who gets money. As long as you or your company get the money you are responsible for any problems may arise. Next step is about you: are you a leader or a normal person? If you are a leader you don’t want to blame other departments. Your customer wouldn’t care if you have done something wrong, or your logistics department or your supplier. You need to take responsibility, fix the problem and not the blame.

Ask for repeat business
This one is a very important one yet often neglected. When based on the above steps, you have successfully solved the problem, and have proved to be a leader, ask your customer 2 simple questions: 1) Is there anything else I can do for you? and 2) Do you know anybody else, who might need my sort of products/services.