How do you respond when a client claims they didn't received it?

[jtvang125]

Client emailed saying he didn't get the reports for nov and dec that we email him monthly. I know everything on our end was fine but can't say the same for his.

What do you normally do in these situations? Do you apologize when you resend them? Or do you try not put any blame and just basically say "here are the files" and move on? Or do you tell it like it is by acknowledging you did send them but hey, here they are again?

 

[Ns1]

"I had originally sent these to you on XX/XX/XX date but here they are again for your reference. Please check your spam filters to ensure this does not happen again"

 

[LordMorpheus]

Client emailed saying he didn't get the reports for nov and dec that we email him monthly. I know everything on our end was fine but can't say the same for his.

What do you normally do in these situations? Do you apologize when you resend them? Or do you try not put any blame and just basically say "here are the files" and move on? Or do you tell it like it is by acknowledging you did send them but hey, here they are again?

What I do when someone asks me for something I've already sent them is I find the message in the "sent" box and forward it to them.

 

[yh125d]

Just send them again. Don't apologize or anything. If he needed them and expected them but they didn't show, he should have contacted you guys to ask if they were sent.

 

[D1gger]

What I do when someone asks me for something I've already sent them is I find the message in the "sent" box and forward it to them.

Bingo! This is what I do. It lets them know you really did send it, but doesn't put any blame on anyone.

 

[EagleKeeper]

Resend them with an apology. Locate the original email and use the Forward mechanism; that demonstrates that you did try to send it originally.
Also, if a client; always follow up when anything is sent to ensure that it meets their expectations

 

[Ns1]

Bingo! This is what I do. It lets them know you really did send it, but doesn't put any blame on anyone.

also works.


I NEVER apologize unless I fucked up.

 

[M0oG0oGaiPan]

What I do when someone asks me for something I've already sent them is I find the message in the "sent" box and forward it to them.

Yep this.

 

[Zargon]

yup

 

[herm0016]

What I do when someone asks me for something I've already sent them is I find the message in the "sent" box and forward it to them.

winner. this happens here quite a bit. Sometimes it even happens when data is uploaded. they mess up the files and then blame the people uploading it.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

We deal with this every now and then.... When it just happens one time it's not a problem, but in my experience this ends up being a convenient excuse.


Ultimately the only fool-proof way is to call the person to verify receipt.

 

[jtvang125]

What I do when someone asks me for something I've already sent them is I find the message in the "sent" box and forward it to them.

I think that's ok as long as you're pretty close to that person but isn't it a bit too cocky if it's strictly professional?

 

[PsiStar]

What I do when someone asks me for something I've already sent them is I find the message in the "sent" box and forward it to them.

This & possibly amend the process for the future asking for acknowledgement of receipt and/or call the client. I consider all deliverables to be equivalent of an invoice and we all know that we want acknowledgement an invoice was received. Only the IRS can get away with the assumption!!

 

[IcePickFreak]

What I do when someone asks me for something I've already sent them is I find the message in the "sent" box and forward it to them.

Same here. In fact if we had an important phone conversation, I'd tell them I'd follow it up with an email, then send it to them shortly getting off the phone with them. That way they can't come back a week later and change the story, we had a few clients that were notorious for that.

 

[Ichinisan]

Are you sending to a Hotmail address?

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2129478

 

[MotionMan]

I think that's ok as long as you're pretty close to that person but isn't it a bit too cocky if it's strictly professional?

I disagree. I think it is perfectly professional to confirm with the client that, in fact, you did send the item and problem (or BS story) is on their end. I think many people fail to realize that smart people who rely on e-mail for communications keep old e-mails (and know how to find and use them).

I always follow-up a resend with a phone call to confirm receipt. If it becomes a recurring theme, I follow-up the initial sending with phone calls.

MotionMan

 

[rudder]

Client emailed saying he didn't get the reports for nov and dec that we email him monthly. I know everything on our end was fine but can't say the same for his.

What do you normally do in these situations? Do you apologize when you resend them? Or do you try not put any blame and just basically say "here are the files" and move on? Or do you tell it like it is by acknowledging you did send them but hey, here they are again?

read receipts. Send the email and if yo do not get a read receipt call and ask whether the client got the email.

 

[DrPizza]

What I do when someone asks me for something I've already sent them is I find the message in the "sent" box and forward it to them.

This, with a politely worded "some of our clients occasionally find that their spam filters have changed certain criteria which may mistakenly pick up these files as spam. You might want to check your spam folders."

 

[AmphibSailor]

What I do when someone asks me for something I've already sent them is I find the message in the "sent" box and forward it to them.

This!

 

[Patranus]

Also, if a client; always follow up when anything is sent to ensure that it meets their expectations

This, this, and more of this.

 

[IronWing]

I worked on multi-year project that required quarterly progress reports to the client. Most work was done at our facility with a occasional work at the client's. I arrived at the client's facility and went to work as expected. The project's technical lead accosted me and proceeded to rip me a new handbag as he had not received the last three quarterly report and intended to recommend canceling the contract. I wrote the quarterly reports and forwarded them to my boss for signature so I knew that we had prepared them. I hastily called my boss to confirm that the reports had been sent. He verified that they had been sent on schedule. The tech lead, still fuming dragged me up to talk to their contract specialist, who wasn't in. He started to leave a detailed verbal message (rant) with the contracting admin assistant when she proceeds to get up, turn around, open a file cabinet, and pull out all our submitted reports. It turns out that she had been instructed by the contracting specialist to make sure a copy of the report was kept with the contract file. Whenever a report came in, she immediately filed it as directed. It never seems to have occurred to her that the company had bought the reports for a reason and that maybe the project lead would want to see them.

 

[Kelvrick]

I worked on multi-year project that required quarterly progress reports to the client. Most work was done at our facility with a occasional work at the client's. I arrived at the client's facility and went to work as expected. The project's technical lead accosted me and proceeded to rip me a new handbag as he had not received the last three quarterly report and intended to recommend canceling the contract. I wrote the quarterly reports and forwarded them to my boss for signature so I knew that we had prepared them. I hastily called my boss to confirm that the reports had been sent. He verified that they had been sent on schedule. The tech lead, still fuming dragged me up to talk to their contract specialist, who wasn't in. He started to leave a detailed verbal message (rant) with the contracting admin assistant when she proceeds to get up, turn around, open a file cabinet, and pull out all our submitted reports. It turns out that she had been instructed by the contracting specialist to make sure a copy of the report was kept with the contract file. Whenever a report came in, she immediately filed it as directed. It never seems to have occurred to her that the company had bought the reports for a reason and that maybe the project lead would want to see them.

She did what she was told. I don't see any fault with her on this one unless in addition to be told to file the reports, she was to inform the tech lead.

 

[IronWing]

She did what she was told. I don't see any fault with her on this one unless in addition to be told to file the reports, she was to inform the tech lead.

I agree.

 

[Ichinisan]

[snip]

Just curious...does he have a Hotmail address?

 

[Eos]

also works.


I NEVER apologize unless I fucked up.

Jesus. That's day one of CSR training at amazon. APOLOGIZE, APOLOGIZE. Fuck me, that's bullshit. I found it very difficult to do that when being yelled at over a $.99 mp3 track.