Follow the Money

A company where I once worked decided to do an internal audit. They didn't have to fire anybody or shut down operations before they could do it. They just went through the records of all their accounts with their clients and tracked what money was received, what was paid out, etc.

In the course of the audit, they found a few cases where money should have been reimbursed to clients but was not. What did they do about this? Did they shut down the company? No. Did they fire half the employees? No. They realized these were just oversights that occurred when things were busy and complicated.

They wrote explanatory letters to the clients in question and sent them checks for the amounts owed. Nobody got upset.

 

Prescription For Success

I'm going to restructure my company, using the same business model as health care companies. When you order my products, I will send you a smaller quantity than you requested. If you complain, I'll just tell you that I've determined that is all you actually need.

Sometimes I'll send nothing. When you complain, I'll tell you that I've determined that this was an unnecessary order.

Sometimes I'll send a different product, with a note saying you must try this first to see if it works out before you can have what you ordered.

Sometimes I'll ship exactly what you ordered, but I'll include a bill for another 25%. When you question the bill, I'll tell you it's a required co-payment.

This will be great.