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Disclose and empathize
By Lauren | April 16, 2010
Continuing my Friday series on keeping your business out of court, let’s talk about something doctors are learning and business has yet to figure out. When something goes wrong and you injure a client or customer, empathy can be your best defense.
Doctors work hard to do a good job, but even the best doctors make mistakes and misjudgments. Medical mistakes can be serious, causing permanent injury or even death. Interestingly, though, recent studies show that patients and their families usually don’t sue doctors for malpractice to get a lot of money. They sue because they don’t know what went wrong, they’re angry that they can’t find out, and they think a lawsuit is the only way to get at the truth. Doctors who tell patients what happened and express empathy are a lot less likely to find themselves at the center of a malpractice lawsuit.
Mistakes happen in every human endeavor, and they’re going to happen in your business, too. When they do, don’t just clam up and refuse to acknowledge what went wrong. Talk to an attorney, but then consider telling your client or customer the truth, apologize, and empathize with their feelings. Those important steps can help you and your client or customer work together to solve the problem. They can also help keep your business out of court.
Topics: Apologies, Professional Ethics, business communications, customer relations, ethics |