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Lost a long-term retainer client over a simple email mix-up

I accidentally sent a project update to the wrong contact at their company last Tuesday, and they said it showed a lack of professionalism. They cancelled the $2,500 monthly retainer by Friday. Has anyone managed to win back a client after a mistake like this?

3 comments

3 Comments

viola_garcia565d ago

I had a $3,000 monthly retainer pull the plug over a file naming issue back in 2021. Sent the wrong version to their CFO and it looked like we were careless. I called them up the next morning, admitted it was my fault, and offered two weeks of free work to fix any problems it caused. I also set up a simple checklist for myself to double check every email before hitting send. They didn't come back right away, but six months later they reached out for a smaller project. My advice is to be direct about the mistake and show you've learned from it, then give them space. Sometimes people just need time to cool off.

johnson.eva5d ago

And that checklist probably saved you from bigger headaches down the road too.

thomas.river4d ago

@johnson.eva That checklist idea works, I started doing the same after a similar goof.