In many service businesses, the industry—not the client—defines quality. In advertising, when most creative people say, "That's a really good ad," they don't mean that the ad might build the client's business. They just mean that it has a good headline, good visual—it's good. Neat. Cool. Many architects treasure buildings that are enormously inconvenient for the people who work inside. Still, architects call them great buildings. Ask: Who is setting your standards—your industry, your ego, or your clients?
-Harry Beckwith, Selling the Invisible
It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts.
Consider everything as a work in progress and don't panic if it doesn't work right yet. Remember Mosher's Law: "If everything worked right, you'd be out of a job."
Hey, despite my many research-backed rants on why you should spend more time with customers, the bottom line is that there is a limit, and you need to be concerned with getting customers what they want in an efficient manner. The trick here is that this should also be applied when realizing when you simply cannot help a customer. If you don't know the solution to a problem, the best kind of support member will get a customer over to someone who does. Don't waste time trying to go above and beyond for a customer in an area where you will just end up wasting both of your time!
After you apologize, tell the customer what happened. Stick to the facts. Keep emotion out of it. Be truthful, even when your company made a mistake. The customer may not like the answer, but your honesty will be appreciated. In the end, a customer is going to respect an employee who is frank and honest over one who evades, covers up, or lies.