Good News vs. Bad News vs. No News: Which do you prefer?
Nobody likes receiving bad news.
Nobody likes being the bearer of bad news either.
But what if bad news is unavoidable?
Then what?
As we all know, business tends to be a mixture of good news and bad news – reactive behavior and proactive behavior. In order to obtain a business case success, one must weigh his options.
Let’s pretend John works for a bakery. He is hired to make a 3-tiered cake for a party in three colors – yellow, blue, and pink. John’s super busy, makes the cake, and colors it yellow, blue and green. By the time he realizes his error, it’s too late to fix. The cake must be at the party in 15 minutes. So, what’s John to do?
John has two options:
a.) John can drop off the cake saying nothing about the color mix-up. He can then be reactive to their inquiries about the color of the cake.
b.) John can be honest and upfront with his customers. He can be proactive, admitting a mix-up, and offering options on how to rectify the situation.
Sadly, I think many people in business today may have chosen option A (or at least been tempted to) – to avoid confrontation and “bad-business.” But, in reality, option B is the way to go. Sure, maybe the customer would be upset at first, but I do believe in honesty and in the attempt to turn a wrong into a right. This can outweigh any disaster caused – unintentionally or otherwise.
The customer may not end up ordering a cake from John again, but I do believe they are more likely to come back if the cards were all laid out on the table, rather than being hidden under a placemat.
The moral of this story – be proactive with customers, even if it’s news they won’t want to hear. The sting will hurt more in the long run if the truth is avoided.
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