Episode #255: Own The Mistake Or Lose The Customer

Things go wrong. That’s life in business. Mistakes, delays, accidents — they’re inevitable. But the real difference is how we handle them when they occur. In Japan, people expect you to own the mistake, not hide from it. Silence, excuses, or blaming the customer won’t work. In fact, they can do invisible, long-term damage to your reputation — the kind you won’t see on a balance sheet, but it’s there, quietly draining future revenue.

We’ve seen projects nine months late, completely off the mark, and somehow the provider still tried to flip the blame onto the client. That’s not just bad service — that’s selfish. And selfish service providers don’t last long in Japan.

Make yourself easy to contact. So many online services are terrible for this. If you have a problem, trying to find what you can do about it on their website is a nightmare. Don’t be like that and hide behind generic emails or faceless websites. Put your name out there and be reachable. Your team will often try to shield you from problems — don’t let them. Get close to the issues.

And don’t be mealy-mouthed about it. If the customer says the service failed, admit it — because their perception is your reality. Trust is far more valuable than the money involved.
Every staff member, even part-time workers or foreign trainees, must be trained to handle mistakes. Not just what to do, but why we do it. Without that clarity, you’re relying on “common sense,” and we all know how “uncommon” and unreliable that can be.

We need to build systems, language, and culture around recovery. Let’s train our people, get them to buy in to our values, and keep repeating it until it sinks in. When things go wrong — and they will — let’s make sure we respond in a way that earns loyalty, not regret.