How To Do Everything Better

You need to know, because if you don't, you really will be sorry. So we offer the following advice from Ann Marie Sabath, the owner of At Ease Inc., a Cincinnati firm devoted to teaching employers and their staffs business manners and protocol.

• Don't panic. "Nobody minds when something goes wrong," says Sabath. "They care about how it's handled."
  
  
• Be creative. "You want to make the apology work out so it's almost a good thing you made the mistake," Sabath says.
  
  Best ways to apologize:
  
  
• "Let people know you're sorry by getting on their wavelength," suggests Sabath. It's not enough to say you're sorry you've inconvenienced a client or supplier. Explain how you inconvenienced them when you apologize, so they know you really understand and empathize with their situation.
  
  
• Send a written thank-you note after apologizing verbally. "When you put it in writing, it seems much more sincere than merely mouthing the words," explains Sabath. "Talk is cheap."
  
  
• Send a small gift. "It could be anything. It could be a candy bouquet. Meet one of the senses," suggests Sabath. In other words, a recipient of an apology smells flowers or tastes candy. But Sabath adds that a gift certificate will work, too, especially if it's tailored to your client or colleague's interests.
  
  
• Don't let the mistake ever happen again.
  
  If all else fails . . .
  
  Try crying. Especially if you're a man.
  
  

Geoff Williams is a master at doing everything better-or at least pretending to. He isn't really a freelance magazine and newspaper writer in Cincinnati. He's a shoe salesman in Duluth.

Contact Sources

At Ease Inc., (800) 873-9909, atease@ eos.com

Colliers International, 475 S. Capitol Blvd., #300, Boise, ID 83702, (208) 363-7687

Cushman & Wakefield of Florida Inc., (407) 841-8000, fax: (407) 425-6455

Eagle Consulting Group Inc., (717) 564-3202, chrisnicholas@compuserve.com

Jam Communications Inc., (202) 986-4750, ext. 11, neil@jam-com.com

Litton TASC Inc., gullette@mpinet.net

Marcus Group Enterprises Inc., (800) 637-0073

Oasis Newsfeatures Inc., oasisnewso@aol.com

PCBuild Inc., (781) 449-7575, ext. 228, http://www.pcbuild.com

Jim Schell, smallbiz5@aol.com

The Spark Factory, (310) 395-6775, mailroom@sparkfactory.com

Strategic Management Group Inc., (800) 445-7089, morgan.smith@smginc.com

TSS Consulting Group Inc., (847) 263-3673, train10@aol.com

Triple Check Tax Services, invest@triplechecktax.com, http://www.triplechecktax.com

This article was originally published in the February 1999 print edition of Entrepreneur with the headline: How To Do Everything Better.