Occasionally, a customer will point out an error that someone in your organization has made. In these situations, try replying by blending an empathy statement with an apology. But be sure that you don’t blame the customer or your company.
Following are three ways to offer a blameless apology:
Blaming: “I’m sorry, but you didn’t send it in on time.”
Non-Blaming: “I’m sorry that the deadline expired before we received your request.”
Blaming: “I’m sorry Mary didn’t get this sent to you on time.”
Non-Blaming: “I’m sorry you have been inconvenienced by this.”
Blaming: “I’m sorry Sarah gave you the wrong login credentials.”
Non-Blaming: “I’m sorry about the miscommunication.”
More practical tips for service professionals appear in the November issue of Customer Communicator newsletter.