Things go wrong, particularly in a people business.

In the last month, I have had two less than satisfactory situations with Rec2Rec companies. (Before I start, this is not a Rec2Rec-bashing session. I have some great R2R partners and value what they do - when it's done well.)

It’s important to have a plan for if someone isn’t happy with the service you provide, and to be open to a discussion and finding a resolution. If not, you’re at risk of damaging your reputation and losing valuable business. These two examples were handled in very different ways.One of the situations was an absolute debacle, with a company that had promised the world and delivered absolutely nothing, wasting 4 weeks of my time and delaying my company's growth in the process. The other was far more vanilla, with a new hire that didn't work out during the rebate period. We had raised concerns early on and weren't surprised, but this is obviously still a frustrating situation.Supplier One responded with urgency to the situation, with my contact asking loads of questions, escalating it internally and promising me immediate action. Her senior called me from his sick bed several times that day and investigated further, not shirking responsibility, but rather keen to understand and provide solutions where possible.Supplier Two didn't even call. Not once.Supplier One came back to me after a few days to further explain, again acknowledging responsibility, taking the hit, refunding my money regardless of the fact that they had done a lot of work.Supplier Twostill didn't call and offered no solutions other than a 50% refund as per terms. This was offered in an email - curtly.Supplier Onearranged a follow-up meeting to try and salvage the relationship, with a different service offering, cheaper, to enable them to show capability, to show they cared, and this demonstrated that they took their service seriously and wished to address the issue.Supplier Two's MD responded – by email – to my email bringing issues to his attention, knocking back any suggestion that they could have performed better, and used the email to try and cover their backsides. Unbelievably, by this point there still wasn’t a phone call.My business was far more let down and more inconvenienced by Supplier One. There were undoubtedly things that Supplier Two could have done better to help, and certainly their post-placement care was woeful. But after seeing how each supplier addressed the issue and the steps they took to rectify, which one do you think I will be using again?I close as I started. Things go wrong, particularly in a people business. It just happens and is often out of our control, but the measure of the individual or the company is how you deal with it.

The most important thing in any business is to confront the issue, make an effort to make the people affected feel better, and actually speak with them. Eat the proverbial frog and show that you care – you may just win back their business and salvage your reputation.