Sometimes in business, things just mess up. People do stupid things, repeat mistakes and just get it wrong.

I recently had an experience with a business where the service I received was somewhat, but not entirely, inappropriate. Then they got the invoice for the service wrong. Four times.

A recipe for disaster. You'd think I'd never go back, wouldn't you?

Actually, I will go back, for two reasons. Firstly, because my several dealings by email and phone with the manager were great. She admitted the mistakes, was profusely apologetic and, best of all, was humorous about the situation. She graciously received the feedback I gave to her about a member of her team and told me that she'd spoken to him about my concerns. 

Secondly, as someone who runs a business myself, I know how easy it is for things to go pear-shaped, particularly when others are working on your behalf. There's only so much you can do to make sure you get it right. There are fewer things you can do to ensure others get it right. Who am I to punish another business for this unfortunate kink in humanity's design?

When you get things wrong, you can do a lot to make sure that your response is right:

1. Take responsibility. Admit you made a mistake.
2. Be vulnerable. Apologise.
3. Hold it lightly. Be humorous.
4. Listen openly. Hear negative feedback with a constructive mindset.
5. Respond. Act on feedback and let people know you have.
6. Communicate. Promptly, courteously and when you say you will.

But there's another side to this. How you respond when you've been wronged is equally important for a good outcome — perhaps even more so:

1. Be respectfully assertive. Politely tell the vendor straight away what the problem is.
2. Be constructive. Let them know what you want the resolution to be.
3. Hold it lightly. Be humorous if you can.
4. Keep cool. If things don't get sorted first time around, calmly explain what still needs to be done.
5. Be generous. Believe that people usually do their best in difficult situations (even if it isn't always obvious)
6. Forgive. Move on. Let bygones be bygones. Holding onto it will give you cancer.

Of course there are always situations where fault is blurry, where it's unclear who and what is wrong. My Rules Of Thumb (which is an ironic acronym) in unclear situations are:

1. Be wrong together. Act, as above, as if you're both wrong.
2. Split the difference. If you can't decide, share the burden of uncertainty.

Remember, things will always go wrong without you knowing it. What you can always know is how to make it right.