A team member's email to a client used harsh language like "forfeited" when enforcing a 24-hour cancellation policy. Instead, state the rule clearly, use lighter words like "used," and immediately offer specific rebooking dates. Give clients a path forward, not a question about their happiness.
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I just got off a Teams call with one of my team members who had sent an email to a client. And the email wasn't wrong, it was just firm. And it was just like, hey, I know that you had some difficulty internally or something X has happened or you've gotten sick. You know that our rules state that you need to give us 24 hours notice and it's less than 24 hours notice, so the class will be forfeited. And then she called me and said, hey, I don't know how I feel about enforcing the rule. And so when I dig through this and I ask why, she just doesn't like the word that she used, which is forfeited. So if you're watching this and you're thinking, what other ways can I do this? How do I lay down these rules and make sure that people are following the rules but not feeling bad or tough around it? And I don't really want to upset the client. We're in our support period, we're towards the end. Keep watching because I'm going to share with you how we've rectified it. So what we ended up saying was, what you should be doing is having the same concept of having the same idea, and that's laying down the law. But being a bit more gentle about it on one hand and then firmer in another. So it asked the question like this. It said, I, I appreciate your circumstance, but please know that this means you are forfeiting the class. Are you happy to proceed with that? Let me know of your next preferred dates. And so what you've got to have done there is you've set a hard rule with a full stop, then you've got to ask the question of, are you happy? And then can you give me some new dates, which is conflicting to the client. And so what we ended up doing was Hey, as you may recall at the start of this, or actually we started like this, is, hey, life happens, not a worry at all. As you may remember, or friendly reminder, this means that the class has been taken instead of forfeited, or the class has been used. We don't want to use the word forfeited, it's big. When would you like to rebook? And we purposely omit, are you happy? Because asking the client after a statement like we've said, you're forfeiting the class because you can't control what happened, but you've done it to us before, and now we're asking you, are you happy? Is a very hard thing to balance. Because not only have we annoyed you by using a word like forfeit, which we should have used taken or used or a word that is light, but then we've asked them, are you happy? Which the obvious answer is they're not. Which day— and what we should have said was, and what we have now corrected, is to this, is which day now suits you better Is it Monday or Friday of next week? Question mark. Looking forward to seeing you then. Hope all is well. So if you're stuck in business and if you're sending things to clients trying to enforce rules that you feel like are important but you don't like how they sound, maybe you've got to keep the concept and the content the same but change the delivery. Be softer on the delivery, but make sure you reinforce it. And then don't ask how they feel about it because clearly you're not happy or they wouldn't be happy. What you want to do is just make sure you're giving them the very clear next step, which is solidifying Path A or path B? Once you've done that, you're going to be able to communicate your value, communicate your strong points, and you're never going to feel like laying down the law or laying down the rules or enforcing rules is a bad thing. Be careful with the words you use because words have weight, and then give the client a clear path. Till always— till always— as always, until next time, think work, pray.
