Appetite for Apologies - Inspirational Things to Think About

Posted by Vince Poscente on Mon, Feb 13, 2012 @ 01:36 PM

Saying “sorry” can save money. Apologizing keeps customers coming back. Serving up a little humility with “I’m sorry” cuts prison time. Heck, it even cures indigestion.

The University of Michigan Health System found four striking benefits from an immediate apology and offers for compensation. One - malpractice claims were cut in half. Two - open claims went down. Three - time for claim resolution were reduced. Four - costs per claim were halved.

Saying “sorry” to customers, no matter what, also improves the bottom line. Consider the Southwest Airlines (SWA) female passenger who kneeled in front of her middle seat, chewed the seat cushion then doffed her top as she ran topless up and down the aisle of the plane. SWA’s policy of a sincere apology, brief explanation of the incident and a travel voucher even applied to the passengers who endured Lady CooCoo Gadiva’s escapade. According to SWA’s chief apology officer (tongue in cheek title), Fred Taylor Jr. "Our objective is to get out in front of the situation before the inquiry occurs. We want to try to think about the way a situation happened on board, the way our customers were affected by that."

American Airlines maintains a similar policy. According to an American executive, Mark Mitchell, “When we handle a delay situation well, (customers) score us about 14 to 16 points higher than they do for just a regular old on-time flight.”

SWA’s policy of apologizing within 24 hours of the incident seems to be working. Of 19 carriers, SWA scored the lowest; 0.21 complaints per 100,000 passengers. The worst? Delta Airlines with a score more than nine times higher at 1.96 complaints per 100,000 passengers.

In the UK, Crispin Blunt’s task as Prison Minister was to cut costs with a “rehabilitation revolution.” His department found criminals apologizing to victims could eliminate costs of £185m over two years of reduced reoffending.

At this point you might be inclined toward conventional wisdom. Apologizing is paramount to admission of guilt. Isn’t this a bad tactic for defendants in a court of law (or husbands everywhere)? According to Jennifer Robbennolt, professor of law and psychology at University of Illinois, “Studies suggest apologies can actually play a positive role in settling legal cases" (or an angry wife).

Robbennolt presented 550 people with a hypothetical injury lawsuit where an apology was given. In the survey, respondents were more satisfied when they found out the other party was sorry and they also settled for less money.

describe the imageSo here’s the two-part skinny on sorry.

1. Say “Sorry” immediately. Heed Dan Heist’s advice. “It’s easier to eat crow when it’s still warm.” Nobody needs the indigestion.

2. Offer to “Make things right.” The quicker you get to forgiveness the brighter the future will be.

 

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Tags: Goals, Motivational, Business Leadership, Inspirational