What do you do when you believe that your customer is wrong, and he is equally adamant that he is correct?

With no paper trail to prove one side or the other’s claims, what occurs is essentially a he-said, she-said scenario. How do you handle this in such a way that you are able to Spoil your customer Rotten while at the same time being careful not to damage your company in some way?

The facts of the situation are this:

1. A CEO liked our book enough to buy 100 copies, one each for his branch and division managers. He handed me a check and the address to their headquarters in Arizona.

2. I deposited the check.

3. I called our publisher myself to place the order, using a credit card.

After that, things are in dispute. Did I provide the publisher with all of the billing information necessary for them to complete the transaction and ship the books?

Let me state clearly for all the world to see: I don’t know!

I am 100% certain that I did. But they seem to be equally certain that I did not. So I have to be fair: I am human, and it is possible, despite my certainty, that I am mistaken.

No that I think so. I remember placing the order. I remember completing the order. I remember relaxing, because the books would be shipped. I’m pretty careful not to alienate an important new customer (and great new friend, in this case) by bungling such a simple transaction.

So I’ll spare you days of grief, in which I communicate via email and phone with a number of people at the publisher, though never – despite numerous copying of email – anyone in the CEO’s office.

(Side note: this is my third major (to me) run-in with this same publisher over our new book. I have yet to hear from the CEO’s office in reply to any of my three grievances, although I did get 10 free books one time).

The penultimate conversation took place this morning, between me and a mid-level manager who, she claims, has extensive experience working in the hotel industry, including with a five-star chain which shall remain nameless to protect the innocent. (After all, she’s not with them anymore. That may not be a coincidence.)

This manager insisted on telling me – seven times – that “In the future, you will need to provide your complete billing information so we can process your order.”

After the sixth time, I called her on it: “So what you’re saying is, ‘Sir, you are wrong, and I insist on correcting you.’”

Her reply was another customer-service faux pas, the “No… But:”

“No,” she said, “I am not correcting you. But in the future, in order to complete an order, we will need your…” yada yada yada.

“No…But” = Yes. Just in case there is any question.

Finally, I let that one go. I asked her for a letter from the CEO’s office apologizing for their failure, one that I could share with my client. She flat-out refused.

My question: What do you do when you and your customer are at odds, and both of you are certain you are right?

I’ll tell you what my father always told me: “You can never win an argument with a customer.”

Here’s what Stew Leonard has to say on the topic: Rule #1: The customer is always right. Rule #2: if the customer is ever wrong, reread Rule #1!

As our friend and mentor Joe Curtin would say, “That’s terrible! What can I do to make it right?”

Is a letter of apology from the CEO (typed and signed by an assistant, I’m sure, while the CEO is out playing golf) going to do anything to damage this company? Would it open them to liable? Could I use it as proof of their ineptitude, and use it to trash their name in the media?

Or is it a 39-cent-way to smooth some very ruffled feathers? Because, I’ll tell you, that’s all I’ve ever wanted from this experience. Just a letter to take to my friend’s office, to show him and say, “Gosh, I’m sorry this happened. Let me buy you dinner to show how sorry I am.”

Don’t worry, he’ll get the dinner with or without the publisher’s letter.

IUniverse, our publisher, does not have to pay for that dinner. They don’t have to give me any more free books, or place an ad of contrition in the Wall Street Journal. But a letter would be nice. A 39 cent investment in our relationship. That’s all.

What would you do in a case like this? I’d love to hear your thoughts. ted.coine@coineinc.com


PS Several hours after I posted the above, I received a call from the same manager telling me that iUniverse had expedited shipping at a cost (to itself, not to me) of $75. No apology, but they did fork out $75.

Makes you think, don't it? How hard is it to say "We screwed up, and we're sorry?" Aparently, it's tougher than you'd think.

Try to remember this the next time you see life differently from your customer. Would you rather shell out extra money, while maintaining ill will? Or allow your customer to be right, and maybe pay nothing at all - yet win a friend in the process?