When screw-ups happen, your level of customer service can save the day. Here are two real-world examples of customer service that made amends.

In early November I ordered half a dozen used books from a small, online retailer. I expected the books to arrive about a week before Thanksgiving. The day before Thanksgiving, the books still hadn’t arrived, so I sent a brief e-mail to the retailer asking about the status of the order. I expected to get a reply after the Thanksgiving weekend.

Surprise. On Thanksgiving Day I got a response from the bookseller. The order hadn’t been processed. The retailer apologized. She offered to expedite the order processing and upgrade the shipping method so I would get the books as fast as possible. She also offered to drop all shipping charges. Did I still want the order, she asked?

You bet I did. Mistakes happen. But this retailer rapidly made amends, saved me some money and took time out of her holiday to tend to my needs. Plus, the books arrived in record time, just as she’d promised.

Here’s another example. I pay my bills on time. But one day in the mail I received a disconnect notice from my utility company, Texas-New Mexico Power Company. I called the company and found out the disconnect letter had been sent in error—to me and many other customers.

Soon after, I received a form letter from the vice president of New Mexico operations. It read in part:

“At Texas-New Mexico Power Company, we strive to go the extra mile to provide our customers with friendly, personalized service. Obviously, sending disconnect notices to customers who pay their bill on time isn’t part of that strategy. We have taken steps to correct the error and to make sure it will not happen again. Please accept our sincere apology for the inconvenience and be assured that your credit will not be affected. We really do appreciate your business, contrary to how it may have looked when you received the notice!”

What an outstanding letter. They admitted the error. They confirmed that they had taken action to correct the mistake and prevent it from happening again. They calmed my concern that the error might impact my credit. And they wrapped it all up with a sense of humor by poking fun at themselves.

Do whatever you’ve got to do to set things right when snafus happen.