Posted on 2011-03-21 15:22:23
One savored tradition at DentalMatrix is honoring our team members' birthdays with a monthly cake and candles. We had an interesting experience today with the affair.
We ordered two cakes from the bakery, one Chocolate and one Raspberry Bavarian Cream. Both cakes had white frosting over them, but one had chocolate shavings on top to help us distinguish the two before cutting.
When we cut the cakes, the big shocker was that both cakes were Raspberry Bavarian Cream and that there would be no Chocolate today, despite the deceptive chocolate shavings on top.
The lesson of the day was that mistakes can't simply be dressed up and ignored. It was bad enough to have the wrong cake delivered, but having the chocolate shavings on top just added insult to injury. It was inevitable that we'd find out anyway, so there was really no benefit to the superficial presentation. In business, it's essential to own up to what you've promised to deliver.