“The customer is always right.” From the dawn of time those five words have been the mantra of all salespeople. As salespeople nothing is more important than keeping customers happy. For example, how many times have you had to agree with a disgruntled customer that the finish on the cabinets he received is not the finish that he ordered? Frequently, when confronted by an angry customer salespeople say things such as, “I am terribly sorry – my mistake” or “Don’t worry, I will fix this mistake”, even though they believe that the customer is mistaken. Other times it seems more appropriate to blame another employee, not because you really believe that he or she made a mistake, but simply to deflect the customer’s anger away from you. In those situations a salesperson may say something like, “I am sorry that the measurements of your cabinet are off. I apologize for our designer Jimmy. He can’t add without using his fingers and toes.” Generally, these tactics appease the customer. However, as consumers become savvier concerning their legal rights, salespeople are finding themselves in the middle of courtroom dramas where they must attempt to dance around their prior apology to the customer. Often times, at the conclusion of the trial the apologetic salesperson is told by his company, “We’re sorry, you’re fired.”
To a shrewd consumer and her lawyer, “I’m sorry” and similar appeasements amount to damaging admissions of liability. For example, in a recent jury trial, the plaintiff homeowner sued his cabinet company because his kitchen island was three inches too short. The cabinet company contended that it ordered the size that the customer had requested and relied upon the design plans to support its position. However, the designer had failed to obtain the customer’s signature on the design plans. Additionally, when the customer complained to the showroom manger she decided that although she believed that the designer had done nothing wrong, she would blame him to deflect the customer’s anger away from her so that she could negotiate a solution. Thus, she told the customer, “I know how you feel. This has happened before. Our designer just can’t seem to get it right. Believe me, I will not tolerate this any longer with him. Today will be his last day.” The manger convinced the customer to pay full price for another island. The customer seemed satisfied and of course, the designer was not fired. A few weeks later, the customer sued. At trial, the plaintiff’s attorney asked the showroom manager if she had made those statements. She confirmed that she had made them. As she tried to explain that she did mean what she said, the attorney simply said “no further questions.” The jury found in favor of the plaintiff. After the trial, jurors were questioned by the defense concerning what made them find for the plaintiff. All of the jurors polled said the deciding factor was the manger’s “confession” concerning the designer’s ineptitude.
The lesson to learn is that while it seems natural to try to appease a customer with apologies and excuses even though you do not believe that your company was at fault, it is dangerous and may result in your statement morphing into a damaging admission. So does this mean you can never apologize to a customer? Obviously, the answer is “no.” There will be times when an apology is appropriate. For example, an apology is acceptable when your notes show that the customer ordered a glass backsplash, but you inadvertently ordered tile. In this situation you know that you actually made a mistake and thus, an apology is acceptable. The key is to only offer an apology when you know that you made a mistake. Do not apologize just to appease a customer especially when you do not believe that you did anything wrong.
As salespeople or management you must be cognizant of the following rules and issues concerning apologies to customers. 1.) Chose your words carefully, when dealing with upset or disappointed customers; 2.) Remember that even the friendliest customer can turn against you; 3.) Know that anything you say will be used against you at trial; and 4.) Never ever criticize management or co-workers.
Certainly, you can attempt to resolve the costumer’s issue without offering an apology. A far better response than “I’m sorry” is “Let’s agree to disagree. However, I want to make you happy so let’s see what we can do.” Nothing is more damaging to a lawsuit than an adverse statement made by a defendant. These “party admissions” are almost always admissible as evidence against the declarant or his company at trial. Fight off the urge to apologize to an angry customer when your company did nothing wrong, even if it means losing that customer.
