On April 29 my Rotary Club (www.bbrc.net) held our annual fundraiser, the Bellevue 10K and 5K. When we picked up our family’s packets the day before my wife handled the pickup while I talked to some fellow members.
When we got to the car and she was sorting shirts I noticed my shirt was different. It was a shirt from three years ago. I sent a text to our run director who told me we were short-shipped XL shirts. She added that we should have been told that I will be on a late delivery list for a 2013 shirt.
My comment back to her was that all it would have taken was the volunteer to tell us about the situation. Communication is key and that’s why she, upon getting my text, contacted the pickup site and told people to inform participants getting XL shirts what was going on. Because she did this quickly we only had one email from a non-club-member complaining.
The above is a perfect story for life and business. Things don’t always go right; glitches happen. After all, we’re all human. So communicating the situation is what matters because it prevents misunderstanding, bad feelings and misguided reactions. It’s when we stay silent that we “turn molehills into mountains” and not vice versa.
“Too much apology doubles the offense.” (Poet) James Richardson