Last week I wrote about how companies get their apologies wrong.

Beth Heinrich, a subscriber to this daily blog, replied to that post with two contrasting examples, which I think are worth sharing. 

Beth is based in Dedham, MA and has written about two local companies and how they fulfilled their duties in taking care of their customer – her.

She began with the better brand:

“I’m connected with a company (Daily Harvest) that is the epitome of how to conduct customer service. No excuses, no half-apologies, no doubt. They accept responsibility and make it right, period. It shouldn’t stand out so much, but unfortunately, it’s the exception still, at least in my experience.”

She then went on about the other brand:

“I’m also connected to Republic Services (a waste removal company), which is the opposite of that. All I’ve ever gotten from them is to be stonewalled. When I finally had the opportunity to break my contract with them and sent word that we would be doing that, they had the nerve to send me a new contract (as if I had said I wanted to renew). 

No apology, not even an excuse, or any words at all. Just the contract attached to an empty email was the response to my letter. This was after months and months of trying to reach a resolution that they never provided. I was stunned. How do you build a business with that severe of a lack of not only customer service but basic human communication skills?”