Not sure what I should do.

[Burl Source]

I dealt with a customer poorly today.
Even though I was right, the way I dealt with it was wrong.
I am not sure if I should just leave it alone,
or If I should call back and apologize.
I am not asking if I was right or wrong, just what you think I should do.

A little background on the situation.
A customer had purchased a piece from my webstore with a non knife project in mind.
Dimensions for the piece were listed as 5" x 2&1/2" to 1&1/2" x 1&1/8 This is just an example, may not be the actual numbers.
The photo showed both sides of the piece with an obvious taper of the width.

The customer called me and said that the piece has a taper and was not going to work for his project.
I told him that I was sorry it would not work for his project, and that I would refund his money if he wanted to send it back.
He said, no that he liked the piece and would use it on other projects.
Next he told me the dimensions he needed and asked if I would let him know if a piece with those dimensions and similar price became available.
I told him I had more koa coming in soon from stabilizing and if I saw a suitable piece I would let him know.
I also asked him to send me an email with a recap so I wouldn't forget as I was cutting wood when he called.

Now a little over a week later he calls again. His tone of voice was pleasant but what he said rubbed me the wrong way.
Started with comments like;
I don't know why it is so hard to do business with some companies.
Why can't people keep their word and do what they say?
Why are some companies so hard headed about fixing their mistakes?
I told him I had some pieces that would work in size but cost was considerably higher than what he wanted to spend. I even offered a discount.
I did not state that the mistake was his, not mine. Or even respond to the other comments.

When it continued that he felt I had wronged him, I told him.
Go ahead and keep the piece you have and I will refund what you paid.
Just do not come back for future purchases.
He said, no, I just won't talk to you anymore and buy from the website.

My ego caused me to react poorly and I am not proud of my behaviour.
But.....I did not raise my voice or use the F word.

Should I call back and apologize for attempting to cut him off?
Or just leave it alone and let things settle down on their own?

 

[Burl Source]

Well, all is good now.
I sent an email stating that I shouldn't have taken things personally.
And apologized for getting angry.
He wrote back and said things are cool.
Might sound dumb, but it really bugs me when things are left hanging.
Glad this is settled.

 

[Core Knife Co.]

I hear you. We can't be responsible for others actions but we can hold ourselves accountable for ours. Glad to hear you reached out and set things straight.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

We are all human, and we all have good days and bad days. The thing that shows what kind of person you are is how you react to the bad days. - You did the right thing.

 

[RyanW]

Mark, you handled things well. Glad to hear all has worked out, I have always been treated MORE than fairly by you and found that you bend over backwards for all your customers. Keep doing what you are doing. I think this shows how much you care about what you do and the people you come across in life.

Did you find that piece of wood I have been looking for yet?.... Sheesh!

 

[tryppyr]

I often have to remind myself (and my staff) that what goes on here at the office is work, not personal. As much as some people go out of their way to make it personal, I know better (most of the time), and strive to take the professional track.

In cases where my staff or I have acted in a less professional manner, I generally do advise them to reach out to the other party (be they customer, co-worker or vendor-partner) and make amends. In some cases, however, I know that isn't the way to go. If the person reaching out is still sensitized to the issue (hence likely to take offense once again), I generally advise them to work their aggression out with me BEFORE contacting the other party. That usually helps them see beyond their emotional reaction.

So perhaps next time before trying to make amends, think about talking it out with a coworker. If nothing else, it might allow you to vent some of the emotions that built up the first time. An even better outcome will be that the coworker helps you see past the presumed insult and remember it's just a job, not a reflection on you personally.

Oh, and by the way, you're not the only person who deals with people who make mistakes and blame the mistakes on others. I get that a lot. Comes with dealing with the public. Everyone seems to think they are right 99.995% of the time. Would that it were so...

 

[Tait]

Mark,

I'm glad to hear it worked out.

I think we all have bad days. The world would be a better place if everyone had your desire to work things out and were willing to be flexible to do so.

 

[ERIK KNIVES]

Mark,

I was with you until I read the part where you told him not to come back. Actually, I was still with you. (haha) But, damn, those were hard words by any measure.

I like to say that it is less important what happens, as opposed to what you do about it. It sounds as though you took some high ground and I think that is cool. Bravo.

BTW, I get pissed too. I think we all do.