Sometimes You Just Have a Think
Recently I replaced a broken piece of glass for a customer.
The job went well. The glass was installed and everything was finished.
The customer’s old door was leaning against a wall on the veranda. Later that day, the wind caught it and blew it over, breaking the glass.
When I first heard about it, my immediate reaction was pretty straightforward.
The job was complete.
The door belonged to the customer.
The glass was no longer under my control.
I called the customer and explained that replacing it again would involve additional costs.
From where I was standing, that seemed reasonable.
But after I got off the phone, I couldn’t stop thinking about it.
I found myself sitting there trying to convince myself that it wasn’t my problem.
The job was finished.
The door belonged to the customer.
The glass wasn’t under my control anymore.
I could come up with plenty of reasons why I shouldn’t have to wear the cost.
The problem was, I wasn’t convincing myself.
It just kept bothering me.
The truth is that running a small business can be stressful sometimes.
You’ve got bills to pay, materials to order, jobs booked in, phone calls to return and a hundred other things going on in the background.
Like most business owners, I don’t enjoy spending money when I don’t have to.
And I certainly don’t enjoy replacing something twice.
But I kept thinking about the customer.
I kept thinking about how he must have felt seeing the glass broken again only hours after it had been replaced.
Then I started thinking about what I could have done differently.
The door was sitting on the veranda.
I never suggested moving it somewhere safer.
I never said, “Let’s put it somewhere out of the wind.”
To be honest, I probably wouldn’t have expected it to blow over either.
It was just one of those strange situations.
But the more I thought about it, the more I realised that sometimes these situations aren’t really about who is right and who is wrong.
Over the years, Adelaide Glaziers has been built through thousands of small decisions.
Most of them are never seen by customers.
Most of them never make it onto social media.
Most of them happen quietly behind the scenes.
And every now and then something happens where you have to make a decision that isn’t completely black and white.
This was one of those moments.
The reality is that replacing the glass again will cost me time and money.
Nobody likes that.
But I also know that if I was standing in the customer’s shoes, I’d be hoping the person on the other end of the phone would help me out.
So after having a think about it, that’s what I’ve decided to do.
Not because anybody demanded it.
Not because I have to.
Just because it feels like the right thing to do.
Sometimes running a business isn’t about finding the perfect answer.
Sometimes it’s just about sitting with something for a while, sleeping on it, and trying to make the best decision you can.
