Gosh, I’ve made some good ones… mistakes that is. And every time it happens I feel lousy: I should have known better, I am stupid, why didn’t I… Such are the thoughts that run through my mind, beating myself down. Remember the story of the client’s flight I talked about in one of my earlier posts? I had booked the flight and only a day before her travel did the client discover that she was booked for the wrong day.
When I received the call from the client, I was not only embarrassed, I was horrified. How could this have happened? I had checked and double-checked the booking, yet it proved to be wrong. I could have disappeared in a mouse hole!
I owned that mistake! I fixed it, got her flight changed to the following day, and had the airline put the extra fare on my own credit card. I tell you, from that day on, I’ve not only double but triple checked every flight booking…
As a client, you must wonder: will I be charged for the time it took to fix a mistake? I give you a solid “No.” Whenever a mistake is made, unless it is something that happened at the direction of a client, the client should never, ever have to pay for the time to fix it. If a client’s money is involved in the mistake, it is only fair for the VA to pay back.
Luckily, in the case of the flight ticket, my client and I discussed it during our next call, and she graciously insisted on paying half of the fare difference. This is definitely not something that is normal, nor can it be expected.
My integrity says if I make a mistake, I own it, fix it, pay back any money involved, and hopefully never make that mistake again.
What expectations do you as the client have in such situations?