Making up for a mistake is never an easy thing to do. When you have to make up for letting someone down, don’t just offer equitable compensation for the mistake. Do a little extra to earn back some goodwill.
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Often, our instinct when making amends is to offer a fair deal to make things right. If you broke a window, you might pay for the cost of replacing it. Lose someone’s favourite movie and you’d buy another. While this works for minor infractions, there’s almost always a component of hurt feelings or lost trust. Attempting to compensate in a way that is unfair to yourself can cover not only the cost of what was lost, but help repair the feelings of ill will, as Entrepreneur explains:
In 2006 I heard NPR’s Scott Simon tell the story of how his father, upon complaining to his favourite shaving cream company that they weren’t delivering the 90 shaves per can they promised, received a crate full of cans of shaving cream. “I think my father may have been buried with the last few cans,” Simon says. If you unfairly compensate your customer to their benefit, your company’s actions may one day become the stuff of legend.
While Entrepreneur suggests this theory in the realm of business, it can apply to all areas of our lives. Remembering that there is an emotional component to offending someone that must also be restored can remind us that what’s “fair” may not always be what’s right.
How To Win When You Fail [Entrepreneur]
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